Let The Right One In
by Kanon Mikaelson
Summary: A VK psychological thriller about the line between mental illness and the supernatural. Yuki returns to the Academy after she disappeared after Rido's death. She returns 2 years later and hell ensues. Zero, Kaname, and Sara think its a phase, but then they slowly become victims. Something bad is happening to Yuki and it is beyond their knowledge.
1. I

She was like a mirage. She simply stood at the gates to the school, staring at the old buildings. She had beautiful long hair, and a vacant gaze. "Who's she?" one girl asked. Two souls followed their disciples' gazes, and they froze. They recognized this girl. The long hair and small height was iconic.

They shoved their way out of a crowd of girls and made their way over, absolutely astonished, and thinking they perhaps needed to be medicated if it was only illusion. But no, they stood feet from her...the young girl not even having to look to know their presence. The mahogany eyes that seemed to fade to a light bronze around the large pupil. Her hair seemed to match her eye color perfectly and the bare few sun beams that bared down on it making it seem silky. She wore a black tipped back fedora, with a floral dress, stopping just above her knee, with a cable-knit sweater and combat boots. Those army boots...also iconic. "Princess Yuki." Ruka breathed. Akatsuki was only looking at the girl's eyes.

Not even an innocent glint.

She barely seemed alive. She was a sickly pinkish white, a beige. She dressed in vintage grunge fashions, rather then her usual preppy apparel. She didn't even seem like she had even been to Cross Academy before, her eyes filled with wonder and curiosity. But what is it they say? It kills the cat.

A spirit. That had to be it. Her beautiful porcelain face...lackluster eyes...the ghostly light radiating off her skin. Had she appeared to taunt him, to warn him? Or even to say goodbye? Perhaps he needed to rest. His dark & crumbling, cold heart had kept him up every night for two years with its incessant painful cries. "Was that Yuki-sama?" Takuma's voice cut in. Kaname looked at him in surprise. He saw it too...the fangirls saw it...the night class saw it. She was there, it was her. And he could see her silhouette now, disappearing into the fog. He vanished from Takuma's side and using his powers, appeared in her path.

She didn't stop however, merely walking around him. "Yuki." he said. She stopped and took her time to turn and face him. He walked up to her, his hand gripping onto her long strands of hair. He couldn't help himself. He leaned down, his face hovering over hers before his arms wrapped around her small, cold, skinny body. Her hands stayed limp at her sides as she didn't say a word, which worried him deeply, however he was successful to hide it. "What was that for?" she spoke at last. His hands drifted up her arms up to her snow white face. "You've left me...for so long." he said.

She blinked and smiled distantly as she pulled away and kept walking. "It's boring, travelling so long. It was...time to come home." No further explanation. He cocked a brow as he grabbed her wrist. "Yuki, talk to me. Where were you? Why have you been gone so long?" She smiled wider. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

She pulled away easily with one small tug as she turned and disappeared into the day dorms. He didn't know what to feel after that encounter. His heart started beating again when he was able to talk to her and touch her again. But those strange answers, the way she evaded him...it caused him a great deal of worry. Even when she talked it was like he was speaking to a ghost. She answered his questions with blurred answers, but he could read between the lines.

"I'm here, my heart's beating. But something happened to me...and now I'm shutting you out."


	2. II

It was a quiet day. The day class was in session, the night class asleep in their dorms. Zero was on his way to her dorm. Of all people who could have given her the message, it had to be him. When he reached her dorm, he felt a moment of reminisce sneak upon him. Her scent...her human scent was still here. The same dorm she was living in 2 years ago. He set his head on her door remembering, swallows, and then regaining his senses. He knocked. A few minutes later, again. And then again. Her door suddenly whipped open and he was choking on his own saliva. She was completely indecent, sopping wet.

"Zero Kiryu, I was expecting a visit from you." she said, as if the situation was completely mainstream. He tried to distract himself by looking at the ceiling. "Will you please put something on?" he growled. She stopped leaning against the door and blinked as she walked to her dresser. "Don't blame me for your interrupting my shower." she sighed. He tried every position possible to avert his eyes from her unclothed body until she had at least some lingerie on. "Then why didn't you stay in it?!" "Your knocking was incessant." she said as she turned around in her bra and underwear. She seemed so... suggestive, and he didn't expect to notice.

Her breast size was bigger, at least by two cups. He hid his blush as he looked at his shoes. He closed the door behind him. "Headmaster wants to know why you haven't attended any of your classes." he said. Her blank expression clearly indicated her boredom. "I don't have to." she replied. "You're a may be some spoiled pureblood, but don't expect any royal treatment here." he hissed. She blinked as she sat in her chair. "I don't have to do anything I don't want to do." He rolled his ees and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Fine. Just talk to Headmaster then, he'd like to speak with you tonight in Kuran's office anyway." She didn't speak, only stare into his eyes.

And he left...without another word.


	3. III

She sat in the sun dorm gardens, by the fountain looking at an envelope in her hands. He'll be coming soon. Her fedora tilted back on her head as she looked to the sky. Cloudy again. She smirked as she pulled her hat's large brim down over her eyes. She supposed if he truly wouldn't show his face in a quaint, standout place...perhaps meeting him in town would be more convenient, with all the hustle in the streets. She stood up, her shiny black heels clicking beneath her as she walked. Her dark brown hair fell down her back like a waterfall as headed out to town on that Saturday morning. Luckily there's a festival going in which any business she has goes unnoticed. Of all the people in town, she stood out. She wore a stiff long brimmed black fedora, a white dress blouse, black pencil skirt, fishnet, and high heel ankle boots. Students from school recognized this iconic girl right away - "It's Yuki-chan!", "She's so pretty, I wish I had her eyes", "Is she here for the festival?", the day class students would say. She paid no heed to her admirers, as often as she'd say hello. She kept her eyes ahead and her back straight as she made her way through the crowded streets. The group night student friends all walked around from shop to shop, Aidou and Takuma walking out of each one with piling shopping bags. "So where are we going for lunch?" Rima asked. "We should go to the cafe down the way!" Takuma said. "No, we should go to a restaurant! I'm hun-" Hanabusa stopped. A cool wind struck him as her heels clicked in his ears like cymbals. Kain's gaze grew anxious. She looked at the two cousins, like she could see through them. She intimidated Kain, and he admitted to that, but her eyes were too hard to look away from. Hanabusa could say the same...but more over paying attention to her rosy red lips. Soon all of them were caught on, and she was already halfway down the street. "Who is that, Hanabusa?" Ruka asked. "Y-Yuuki-sama!" Hanabusa called. She stopped and turned, so all of them could see her face. Kaname stared. Never had he seen her dressed in such an attire, almost like a ghost of the 1960's if he were to guess. He started walking toward her, and she stayed completely still as Seiren, Hanabusa and Ruka accompanied him over. She stared back at him as he moved some hair out of her face. "You didn't come to my office a few days ago. Didn't Kiryu give you the message?" he asked softly. She blinked. "I didn't feel like coming. And the way Zero and I left things was a bit...disturbing." she said. He touched her cheek- ice cold. She looked from her brother to Kain, a couple yards away. He swallowed as she gave him a spine-chilling, soft smile. "Well, Yuuki-sama will you join us for lunch?" Hanabusa asked. Her long brimmed fedora tilted back with her as she looked to the clouds above. "Perhaps...another time. I have errands to run." she said. The shuffle of loafers came from her right, and so her head slowly rolled in the direction. "Ah, you've come." she said in a light tone. All following her gaze, they all choked back a gasp. Kaname frowned. It was a man. But no ordinary man. He stood about six feet tall, dark hair gelled back in a slick, wearing a formal black suit and loafers...his face tattoed to resemble that of a skull. He didn't speak a word as she walked over and handed him the envelope. She whispered a few things to the man, and he merely nodded at all that was said. She took his arm and looked at Kaname and the night students. She looked back at them with that same hair-raising smile. "Good day." was all she said. Kaname's insides were turning in frustration. "What is she doing hanging out with that kind of guy?" Ruka scoffed. "Did you see his tattoos?" Rima said to Shiki. "Well, I guess she has a taste for scary." Shiki sighed. Akatsuki shook his head as he stayed behind to watch her walk off in the distance with Kaname. Kaname turned to his right-hand man and frowned. Akatsuki only shrugged.


	4. IV

She lied back in a bath as she stared at the ceiling, mumbling and humming a song to herself. Her arm hung over the side of the tub. As her eyes wandered to the tub, the water sat still...and caky, even as she crossed her legs. It was thick...and smelled of rust. She brought up a dripping hand from her bath and laughed as she kept humming. When she heard a knock at her door she sighed. Arising from the blood red water of the tub she shook of the dark and drippy substance and wiped off, putting on her robe. Her feet left bloody tracks as she reached her crimson hand to the doorknob. Kaname stood at the door, and stared at his sister, dripping wet with water.

"I'm sorry I didn't know you were busy." he said. She just looked at him blankly waiting for him to continue, as he let himself in. "I just came to check on you." She was silent. He put a hand on her cheek. "So quiet. After I saw you leave with that man yesterday...I'd grown worried. Who was he?" Kaname asked sternly. Her lips parted. "He's my guard." she said. Kaname frowned. "Guard? Yuki you're so reckless. A man like that can't be trusted. We have Seiren and the others." She looked at him with her vacant eyes and pushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Don't judge a book by its cover. Have you ever heard that before?" she asked. He nodded with a smile.

"It's not something to be taken lightly brother, you understand the devil was once an angel too." He was puzzled. She was so different...poised yet odd...hushed. He kissed her forehead. "We'll talk about this tonight." he said. She watched him leave. "Tonight huh?" she snickered to herself. She took off her robe, revealing her bare, bloodied body and walked to her window watching him head back to the dorms. He looked back up to her window and saw her, bare shoulder and long hair in the corner of the window. He stopped for a minute to return the gaze.

He was feeling lightheaded...but the image of her bare back to him made him cringe with a bit of excitement. He returned to his dorm and sat down in his desk chair. He was burning for nightfall to come sooner. In her own room, Yuki looked over her bare, pure white body in the mirror. She tilted her head as she traced a scar...of wound that couldn't heal. It was straight and thin...and right along her neckline. She turned on her heel, opened one of her dresser drawers, and took out her black lingerie. The tune continued.

Boo...I'm the boogie man

The terrible, horrible boogie

I come in the middle of the night and frighten back little boys like you...

Her black lace bra, the underwear came on first, as her wet long hair fell over her shoulder. Her voice got a little louder.

I'll torture you and haunt you, I've got you where I want you

A victim of my dark and dirty plot...

And at the slightest whim, I'll tear you limb from limb

In other words I'll put you on the spot...

She adjusted her suspender stockings and laughed to herself, as she snapped one on her thigh and pulled on her platform heels. Her gaze was dark, her rosy red lips' color dripping onto the floor as she walked over to her full length mirror, pushing it back admiring her attire. She took her dagger from her jewelry box and examined its shiny blade. She smirked.


	5. V

Zero stood under the stars as he walked the grounds that cold night. He remembered patrolling the grounds with her. The "human her". And sometimes when he closed his eyes he could hear her nagging to get back on task. He wished he could see her one more time...full of energy and positivity. But she wasn't the same anymore. Not the same Yuki. _That other girl._ The one that's there in her place...he sensed the evil in her. The way she'd look at him sometimes across the room, or make him feel like she was undressing him with her eyes. She was sinister and he felt it. Her small pupils, the long locks, the snow white face, and crimson lips.

A demon, or at least something like the rest of them. She was no longer the free-spirited human girl that he loved. She was dark and confined pureblood princess that now belonged to those monsters. He closed his eyes as he imagined her standing there, smiling up at him. He reached to touch her olive, pigmented skin...but she was gone. She was becoming a blur.

He snapped his head in the direction of the approaching sound of horse hooves and turning wheels. A carriage pulled up to the school gates and he watched as the door swung open. One by one, two black pumps clacked once the heel met the cobblestone. And then out came the woman. The one with rippled blond hair to her thighs...the one with the icy blue eyes that could make anyone cold. He grimaced and stormed off. Yet another of the pureblood race.

She sat in the dark at her windowsill, playing with a lighter. She didn't smoke. She'd gotten it from a friend. But like a child, thought of it as a toy. On and off, on and off, it went. She grew curious. Tilting her head, she kept the lighter on as she hovered a hand over it...drawing a cross on her palm with the flame. Her lips parted as she examined the burning flame on her palm. It hurt...but not like the excruciating pain she had felt many times before. "Are you trying to harm yourself?" she heard. She slowly turned her head to look at her brother. Shutting her palm, a cloud of smoke puffed out from her fist. "It's late. I was beginning to think you'd bailed." she said. He smiled as he walked over to her taking a strand of her hair. "I thought this would be an appropriate hour to arrive." he said. She only looked at him. "Actually it is." She stood up and set the lighter down. "Do you believe in him?" she asked. He cocked a brow. "In who?" he asked. "The Devil..." He frowned. The Devil? He wasn't expecting that. He didn't much take part in any religion...let alone Satanism. She stood waiting for an answer. "Yuki, why would you ask something like this?" he asked. She blinked innocently. "...Do you?" He tilted his head, but she smiled anyway. "You don't have to answer." She gave him the signature hair-raising smile she possessed and walked to the light switch. He stopped her hand. "Leave it off." he said. She looked at him as her bangs fell over one eye. He put his hands on the wall by each side of her temples. "Why do you do it?" he asked her in return this time. She was totally unfazed. "Why do you taunt me...when you make me feel like I'm only your brother?" His hand slid down her arm gently. "You said you loved me...and then you left me. Where did you go? Why do you dismiss me and then taunt with your body?" His hand slowly, gently grabbed her waist. He moved her bangs out of the way, as his fingers traveled down to the sides of her lips. He'd been holding back his urges to kiss those perfect lips since the day she returned. "Are you sure?" she asked. He stared for a moment before crushing his lips to hers. She'd never seen him like this before. So lascivious. This gentle, polite man she'd known for so long...suddenly acting like a savage. He left bitemarks on her collar bone, her hair a mess, and uniform unbuttoned as she did nothing at all to stop him. She held a blank stare, not a smile cracking through or even a moan. He stopped and looked at her. She put her hands behind her back as she leaned against the wall. Her black lingerie was revealed through her unbuttoned shirt and skirt riding up exploiting her suspender tights. "Do you now?" she asked. He caught his breath as he swallowed. "You're a sinner, Kaname." she said. He looked into her eyes. "Not that you weren't just by cheating death with those fangs." His heart skipped a beat as the room grew colder. Something wasn't right. "Yuki-" "You can keep going...the test is over." She said as she guided his hand to her stomach. He restrained her advances. "Yuki what is this? What did you-" "Remember what I said about judging a book by its cover." she whispered. His face went blank. She smirked.


	6. VI

The students of the moon dorms swarmed like vultures to her side. Her long finger waves fell to her ankles under her silken parasol. The beautiful woman with piercing blue eyes and an air of elegance stood tall and confident as she walked to the Moon Dorms. Her eyes were like a hound dog's, a hint of sadness and tediousness, from her usual spotlight. Kaname watching from the highest story's window, knowing her presence since she'd set foot on the grounds. She returned his glance and he returned a suspicious expression. But he wasn't the only Kuran whom was keeping their eyes on her. Yuki stood at the gates of the moon dorms, her eyes on the back of the woman's head. The woman stopped.

And turned her head to look at Yuki. She stood silent, her mahogany eyes clashing with the blue ones. The woman gave a small smile. Yuki turned away. Continuing on her way, the woman walked into the moon dorms, meeting Kaname at the stairs, bowing before him. "Nice to see you again, Lord Kaname." she said. "Sara." Kaname said. Sara Shirabuki rose, and smirked. "Thank you for allowing me to attend this academy. It is an honor to be apart of this...peaceful school." Everyone was fawning at her grace, her soft voice. Like an angel. Oh, if they had known her intentions. Kaname nodded slowly as he came down the steps to level with her. "Tell me...Kaname. Is it true your sister has returned?" Sara asked. "Yes, it is." he replied.

"Oh? And might the girl I saw outside be her? She looked so much like you." "Takuma can show you to your dorm room." Kaname said. They stared at each other for a few moments, before she followed Takuma up the stairs. The night class was in a frenzy...like they'd just met a star greater than them. Kaname knew what was to come. And he'd have to guard his family.


	7. VII

She sat at the school gardens fountain, staring into the clear blue water falling from the stone swan's beak. Clear...as anyone else would see it. Her guards stood on each of her sides. Both with their stone cold expressions that could not match the fountain's statue itself. Yuki's chillingly stern expression stayed as she listened to the sound of approaching feet. A slight pat-clap-pat-clap. Takuma and Sara appeared in the forest path's entrance. Takuma looked at Yuki's guards, befuddled. They looked exactly the same...like the same man he'd seen with her when she ran into him and his friends in town at the festival. Black formals, Skeleton faced tattoos, equally tall. And Yuki was the way she always was on Wednesdays. She was dressed in black. "Yuki...Kuran." Sara smirked. Yuki looked at her.

"Allow me to introduce myself." Yuki blinked. Takuma noticed the dark circles emerging from under her eyes...he'd never seen her with such a fatigued face. But that's how she appears to be these days. Utterly full of surprises. "Sara Shirabuki." she said, before Sara could even continue. Sara smiled softly. "Very good. Your brother has mentioned me then?" "Certainly no." Sara's smiled faded as she turned her head back to upright position. "I knew who you were...the minute I saw your face." Yuki said softly. Sara approached her Takuma making sure he was walking beside her, but only a step ahead, in case anything happened.

"Well...since I hear you are not in night class...might I stand in your place at Kaname's side?" Sara said in a snarky way. Yuki smiled like the cheshire cat. "Silly girl." Sara was taken aback. "Pardon?" "You could stand at his side for ages, but he shall not accept your hand." Yuki stated. Sara's face heated up in annoyance. "Excuse-" "You wish for purpose. Because you know what happened to my parents...to yours...to Kuruizaki Hime. You don't want to be like them." Sara didn't know what to do. A child, especially one much younger than she, was testing her and winning.

"Sara, understand. You shall not find a purpose if you look for one. It comes naturally. What happened to the people you've heard tragic stories about had purposes. But they failed for the sake of others. So pathetic. But you are truly a child of sin...such vanity. Perhaps it affects the mindset..." Yuki had pushed Sara to the edge and Takuma saw it. Sara's eyes turned red and Yuki only smiled as her guards came to stand at her sides. Sara retained her peace and took a breath as Takuma was ready to step between them. "My, my. What a firecracker you are." Sara laughed insincerely. Yuki's eyes burned into Sara's like the sun. "Perhaps we'll talk another time."

And with that, she began to walk away in her catwalk fashion, holding her parasol above her head. Takuma bowed to Yuki and then left with Sara. Sara pulled Takuma aside. "You will ensure that child does not cross her boundaries. Kaname ought to have taught her her place." she snapped at him. "Unfortunately...she's been like that since she reappeared. Many have tried..." Takuma replied. Sara huffed and let him go. "Let's return to the dormitory. I'd like some tea."

Yuki sat with her black wide-brimmed hat hiding her eyes as she touched the water's surface. Her fingers were of the anti-christ. From sparkling fresh waters...to the mucky filth of blood.


	8. VIII

Zero sat under a tree in the shade. He wished...he prayed he could leave this place behind. That he may be able to get an aprtment like his ally Kaito Takamiya. A place his own where he was away form the school's madness and that crazy girl he thought he once knew. Never again shall he put his trust into anyone but the hunters. A sweet and innocent girl...turned into a monster. However he was not angry with her...but with her sibling. Kaname was the one who turned her. He turned her into a bloodsucking urchin. But nevertheless as much as he wished to wring his neck, he thought of her. Not only would he be breaking her heart...but he looked at the way she was now. She seemed truly happy. But not herself. He'd seen her walking the grounds only a while before. She was with those strange men...the ones he'd seen with her in town before. Skeleton-faced. They made the students quite anxious, especially the day class. But he knew they had to be protecting her in some way. But for what? Couldn't Kaname Kuran's posse be enough? "You're always alone." he heard. There she stood, in her usual appeal. Same fashion; flowery babydoll, basic tights, combat boots, chunky sweater. "What do you want?" he snapped. She blinked with a soft smile as she kneeled by him. "Why are you by yourself, Zero?" she asked. He got up abruptly. "It doesn't matter. Go find your bother." He turned away, but she pulled him back. "Zero." He put his bloody rose to her head. "You wouldn't do it." she said a few seconds later. She stared into his eyes. "Put it down. Let's just talk." Slowly, cautiously the gun came down. She smiled, but it was hardly noticeable. "What do you want?" he sighed. "Everyone here are so...normal. I want to walk with you." He stayed emotionless. "What's that supposed to mean?" "You're different from everyone else. You're better." "Okay then..." he said as he turned on his heel. She kept pace with him. "It's a compliment." she said softly. As they walked in silence together, he finally stopped her when they got to the forest. "What is this?" he hissed. She tilted her head. "You come to the door indecent, you compliment me, you look me in the eyes like we're friends. Why?" She laughed silently. "It was all coincidental, love. You just choose to be in the right place and time for those sort of things. If you had come later you would have caught me fully dressed, decent. If you hadn't been sitting alone I would have walked past like you were air. If you hadn't left any of these openings for me...we would have never allowed this." He frowned. Now she wasn't making any sense. "I don't know what happened to you these past years, I don't care. Stay away from me." He pushed her away and left her. She stood silent and smiled. "It's too late...for staying away." she murmured.

Sara sat in the moon dorm lounge area with her newfound classmates and acquaintances, or Takuma's friends. They sat around the coffee table with their tea when Takuma set his down. "Takuma, did you check on Yuki like I asked?" Kaname said. Takuma swallowed and nodded as he looked at Kaname. Sara set her teaset down as well. "Yuki...Kuran." she said with a small, hushed laug as punctuation. "Such a challenging girl." Everyone looked at each other. Kaname looked at Sara slowly. "What makes you say this? Sara?" he said. He tried his best to conceal it. From the day she'd arrived at the academy to present day she'd been on his last nerve. "Oh, you've met?" Shiki asked. Sara nodded slowly. "She's quite 'feisty' if I say so myself. Very sharp-witted. Might you have said something to her Kaname-sama?" Kaname frowned at her. The night students sensed the unease. "Why, no. Not a word." Sara returned his gaze. Usually she'd be offended, but she was more curious of how a young woman she'd just met had her figured out. Where exactly had she been getting her information? "How strange." She receded from her seat and slowly walked up the steps, hands diamond posed behind her back. It seems I have some of my own sleuthing to do." she sighed to herself. It had settled in recently; she'd let Yuki Kuran have the last word...but not this time. She wouldn't lose to a Kuran...and by the time she'd inconvenienced this win, Yuki was under watch.


	9. IX

Sara had had Yuki under surveillance for over ten days. Her activity was anything but unusual, although those skeleton-faced men that showed up left and right seemed to make Sara a little cocky as to what Yuki was holding them around for. But she knew something was wrong. She knew the way Yuki-sama felt about her, the way Yuki's eyes could burn a hole in yours. She'd have to get a closer look at this so-called Kuran "princess".

* * *

Yuki sat in her room, a young man kneeling before her as she lifted his chin. He made sounds of pain, his muscles twitching from time to time. But she sat calm, a lit candle and bottle of ink at her side and a needle in hand. "Ssh." she'd say, soothingly. The boy's pupils were small as shook, but it wasn't her current actions that he was afraid of. It was what was ready to come next. She tilted her head as she finished. His face was red and irritated from the hot tool, but the ink work was rather fantastic. She smiled slightly as she as she set the needle on her nightstand. "Beautiful." she said as she smoothed back his hair. He trembled as he stared into her eyes. She got on her knees in front of him, promising it wouldn't hurt. She took out a small pocket knife and held it up. He was now vibrating in fear.

She leaned in, giving him a kiss upon his tattooed lips, as she did to all the others. She then tilted his chin down, separating his gritted teeth with her index and thumb. "Ssh." She took his hand and squeezed it as she set the knife on the tip of his tongue...but he couldn't scream.

* * *

He watched from the keyhole. Everything she had done...what was it? There was a word for it. _Sadistic_ perhaps? He backed away from the door when he saw her headed toward it. The man she was "working on", left. Paralyzed and zombified, he walked down the hall, leaving him fear-stricken and her to stare. "What did you see? Takuma." she said silently. Takuma swallowed. "Most of it. Does Kaname know you're doing this?" he asked, a little nervous. She smiled, although none could tell. "He doesn't have to know about it. Does he? Although I wouldn't be ashamed if he did." she answered. He straightened up. "And I won't tell." She looked in his eyes. "So then why are you here?" He looked around and then took her back inside her room. "I don't take sides, Yuki-sama, or at least I try not to." he said. She cocked a brow.

"I know about Sara if that's what this is coming to." she said. He frowned. "You know? That she's watching?" "Let her." Yuki cleane dup her supplies and the few blood droplets on the ground as he spoke. "Then why do you continue on?" "Because she'll get what she deserves, Takuma..." She gently touched his face. "You should flee from her side as soon as possible or your demise will entwine with hers." His eyes widened as he flinched away. She dropped her hand at her side and looked at him. "Tell Sara exactly this. 'She can't get anything off of me...without her own pay'." Yuki said in a deeper tone. Takuma gulped and nodded as he left abruptly. Yuki sighed. It wasn't war...rather a match.


	10. X

He looked around, seeming that he didn't know where he was. Hadn't he just gone back to his dorm room? That familiar sweet smell. Vanilla and rain? She was close. He kept walking. Might she be hurt? She does like to play with that lighter of hers an awful lot. He reached the small lake just west of the dorms. The last time he'd been here was when he'd walked with her on that same shoreline the night she'd gained back her memories...that was the moment he'd lost her. As he walked by this shoreline, she stood on the edge of the dock from what he could see looking out at the water. He walked up behind her steadily, but she kept looking at the moonlight's reflection.

When she turned to him, he was able to get a good look. Everything about her seemed...perfect. Not even a scrape or a flaw could be found. Her hair was rippled like a mermaid's, her bare body as perfect as a porcelain doll's, her lips as red as any cherry...but none of those are what lured him in. It was her eyes. Her eyes were those of a true immortal. They were a bright amber, with dark brown rings around them. Like an eclipse of summer. But in that next moment all her beauty faded. The images were flickering in his mind. Her beautiful spine-chilling smile, to her mascara running down her cheeks and dried blood drawing lines down her chin, to her silent cry for help.

The images replayed every millisecond until he saw her walking toward the edge of the dock, dropping herself off the wooden platform into the calming dark water. She didn't come back up...leaving him to want to jump in after her. But he saw it the water started turning red. a line of air bubbles were slowly trailing to thesloping shoreline. Somewhat afraid yet curious, he stood in wait where the airbubbles were aline with his position on land. She emerged from the mucky water...but she was still pure. The blood was transparent on her skin...yet she was all the same. A beautiful thing of woke up startled. He'd sweat through his torso around his chest and sides, his hair even a bit damp with sweat. He felt a soft, cool hand running down his face. She sat quiet and calm as she wiped the sweat from his forehead. He choked on the air he took in and grabbed her wrist. "It was only a nightmare." she said softly. "What are you doing here? How did you get in?" he scowled. She tilted her head. I heard you through your door...you sounded like you were in pain. He shoved her arm away from him and sat up. "Get out. I don't want you in my head let alone near me at all." he said. She stayed in her place. "Zero." she said warningly.

"You're testing my nerves. _I _only intend of taking care of you...but you're so stubborn you cannot even accept a vampire's hand. You don't believe in equality...do you?" He frowned at her. "Never will immortals or humans be associated under the same word. _People_. Not for me anyway, but maybe that idiotic Headmaster." he snapped. She grabbed his hand as he stood up and held it like she were ready to shake his hand. He hissed in pain and pulled away. Looking at his wrist...the same symbol that had been seen on Kaname's arm...the pentagram. "You're a sinner, Zero." She walked to the door, but before leaving, turned to him as he looked at her angrily.

"A bit of advice...'There are moments when even to the sober eye of reason, the world of our sad humanity may assume the semblance of hell'." After her presence was gone...Zero stood looking at where she had stood. Semblance of hell. That's what she was, alright.


	11. XI

She sat with her legs crossed in his office, her gaze set out the window. Her blood tablet water sat untouched as she blinked and was completely still. The door closed as he came in and sat at the desk between them. She looked at him, straight in the eye. "Yuki." her brother's husky voice spoke. She blinked. "Is there anything that prompted your behavior the other night?" he asked. She looked at him blankly. "As I recall. You failed the test." she said softly. "What test? If your seduction was going to succeed me either way." She scoffed. "Seduction?" she laughed. He frowned.

"I didn't seduce you. You chose to be aroused all by yourself. Therefore,_you_...committed adultery." "I am not married." "Yes. But adultery doesn't mean just sexual relations outside a marriage. It means to partake in intercourse with someone you aren't married to. We are not under monogamy." she explained in a monotonous tone. He stood and followed her to the window on the far side of the room. "So then how did you do it? _Why_? This isn't a common vampire power." he said. She looked out the window. "You're right, it isn't. In fact, it isn't a vampire power at all...it's simply..._a magic trick_." she said. "If it changes your views and desires for me, I don't apologize. It's what I have to do."

He slowly ran his hands down her arms. "Of course it doesn't...I'm only worried." He joined his hands with hers, she didn't look at him however. "Your innocence, your childlike curiosity is wavering...you're growing and I understand...but I want you to stay pure..." he said, his lips by her ear. She watched as the clouds rolled in through the window. "And you'd planned to taint me?" she asked. "I wanted your personality to stay pure...I never said anything about your chastity." he said as his hands ran down her waist. "What makes you think that...or even all of it is still clean?" She turned to him.

"Maybe I'm not still a child...maybe I learned curiosity killed the cat...maybe I'm not sane...maybe I'm not a virgin to anything anymore." She said. Completely dismayed, yet able to hide it, her brother took one of her hands and brought it to his face. "Then I guess we can be tainted together. It hurts to know you've been touched by others wherever you've gone and perhaps their words as well have changed your ways...but you are my sister...and I love you in all cases." he said softly to her. She stood still, thumb stroking his cheek, not a smile cracking. "Thank you..." she said quietly. "But I cannot accept those words. I know one day they'll have no more meaning behind them."

He frowned and gently took her face, kissing her. He took her hands placing one on the small opening of his shirt where his bare chest was and keeping the other on his neck. His eyes were closed as he hungrily kissed her lips over and over, but hers were open...manipulation and guilt writing their names on her irises.


	12. XII

She sat in the quiet of the morning air's stillness. The sky was still partially cloudy, but she could see the orange and pink of the sky shining through. Dew drops falling from the trees could be heard all around, it was so silent. Takuma sat beside her. "Sara-sama...you should be in bed. You've been out here for hours this morning." he said softly. She frowned at the sky. "She's given me nothing." she scowled. Takuma frowned. "Yuki-sama? You still keep an eye on her?" She looked at him angrily.

"There is something wrong with that girl and I am determined to figure out what it is. She maintains a strange air...odd motives... everytime I see her, there's always some abnormal body language. Takuma..." He sat silent and concerned for her. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "I don't believe she is any longer one of us." she concluded. His lips parted. "What do you mean? Sure she seems a little 'uneven' in certain categories but...I don't think it's fair to accuse her of being an unfit va-" "She's right." her voice interrupted. There she stood. Takuma stood, eyes wide. Her brown eyes were trained on Sara's. Takuma was blocking everything out...staring at Yuki's profile.

Her skin was white as a ghost, her hair oily, her cheeks losing their fullness and becoming hollowed. Sara seemed a little disgusted by her appearance. "Yuki-sama, you don't look so good." Takuma said silently. Sara stood with him. "Yes, perhaps you should return to your dorm and rest." she said. "Sara." Yuki's hoarse voice cut in. Sara blinked and tilted her head. "You pathetic soul. What I do and who I am, is not of your concern. But it seems you delved too far to turn back." Takuma was in a readied position, seeing the tired look on Yuki's face as if she were to about to collapse. Sara walked up to her, Takuma keeping a step ahead of her to remind her of her manners.

She brought her face close to Yuki's. "No, my dear. You are the pathetic soul. I've seen you with all the men in this school. Acting as if they were all your lovers. The women as well! Just what is it that you covet that makes you no ordinary pureblood?" she hissed. Yuki raised her head to hers. "Simple. I am not a lifesucking bitch." she whispered to Sara. "Oh, but you are. I think I may have just found your true nature Yuki-sama. You believe if you have this school wrapped around your finger...then your brother and the night class will fall short and be graded below you. That is why you double cross and deceive the inhabitants. And those servants of yours...could they be the ones you've successfully had their breaths taken away?"

Takuma grew nervous as Yuki's countenance grew as nasty as he'd ever seen. "You are not a minder reader." Yuki snarled. "Oh but I am, you pathetic excuse for a pureblood. Unlike you...I wish to share my power with Kaname...to form a bond with him so the pureblood race continues on." Sara purred, Yuki grabbed her neck, her breath quickening. Sara's eyes widened as she was unable to break away. "_Promiscua devorat sordibus tuis totum, miser damnatorum..._" she growled under her breath, with a tinge of gagging. Takuma's breath quickened with Yuki's as he pushed them away from each other. Sara glared at Yuki as she stayed on the ground, hobbled over.

"If you dare touch me like that again, you will no longer be allowed to live!" Sara whipped around after these harsh words and vanished. Takuma looked around and then to Yuki. He could hear her loud breathing and hyperventilating. "Yuki-sama..." he said as he kneeled down to her. Her back arched as she spit out a black liquid and then vomited the remaining of it. He frowned, his heart skipping a few beats. She sat up straight a few seconds later, looking as if nothing had happened, saying something that caught him completely offguard in her monotonous voice. Her appearance restored within seconds.

**_"I'm okay now."_**


	13. XIII

"Attacked you?" Akatsuki said, a bit inquisitive. Sara nodded. Kaname stood looking out his window. "I'm truly sorry, Sara. But...my Yuki would never attack anyone. Unless...you ambushed her first." he said. Sara was appalled. "Kaname-sama, I would not lie about something like this. She attacked me." Akatsuki was doing his ebst to stay out of it. Kaname blinked and slowly looked to her. This woman wasn't one to lie. Perhaps to deceive, but rarely to tell an untruth. They glared at each other for quite some time, until Takuma walked in. Kaname looked in his direction. "Takuma." Kaname said, as if prepping to ask him a question. Takuma looked at him anxiously.

"You were with Sara this morning, right?" Kaname asked. Takuma nodded slowly. Sara stared Takuma down warningly. "And did you happen to come in contact with Yuki?" Kaname questioned. Takuma swallowed. "Yes...we did." he answered quietly. Akatsuki frowned, noticing something was off. Kaname seemed to catch this as well. He beckoned Takuma inside with his head. Takuma did so, closing the door. "Sara claims Yuki attacked her. Might you have witnessed this?" Takuma looked at his feet. "Yes, I did...Yuki-sama tried to strangle Sara-sama..." Kaname was taken aback.

Had his darling sister, the one who'd never harm a soul unless necessary...really tried to start a quarrel with a fellow student? He looked to Akatsuki, who was stunned. "And, why would that be?" he asked in a deeper tone of voice. Sara's gaze had hardened onto Takuma's head. Takuma wasn't sure what to say...if he decided to lie for his "sweetheart", Kaname would realize and punish him later. But if he told the truth...Sara would only do the same. But he knew what the right choice was. "Sara tempted her...from what I could remember." he stated. Sara gave him a look of betrayal. "She...was stereotyping Yuki-sama from her attitude...and so Yuki-sama attacked."

Kaname glared at Sara. Sara looked at him blankly. "I don't see a rule about giving one an 'attitude check' in the handbook." Sara said snarkily. Kaname looked to Takuma. "And where is my sister, Takuma?" he hissed. Takuma scratched his head...remember the scene that had only happened an hour before. "I took her to the infirmary..." Kaname looked ready to lunge at Sara, Sara rolling her eyes, and Takuma standing beside Sara. "Such a starlet, Yuki-sama can be." Sara huffed. Kaname's chest rose up and down largely, his eyes glowing red. Takuma held a hand out to calm Kaname. "Yuki-sama was ill!" he said quickly.

Akatsuki looked to Takuma then Lord Kaname, who stood puzzled. "Ill?" he asked. "Yuki-sama didn't look so good when we encountered her. She was very thin and sluggish and losing color and she..." He stopped to swallow. "She regurgitated a bit...I think she has a case of anemia..." he finished. Kaname's expressions had varied in this office lawsuit, as he took his uniform blazer and left, all three of them following behind, going to see his sister.


	14. XIV

_Dink-thh, _her light went as it flicked on and off. In a way, it was like a child with their building blocks or favorite toy...the way she looked at it with a childlike glint in her eye. But that glint was faint. She didn't bother to look up, as the doors opened. Her "henchman" held them open as Kaname, Takuma, Akatsuki, and Kaien entered. _Dink-thh, dink-thh, dink-thh_. Suddenly she stopped playing with the lighter when the four bodies appeared around her. She looked straight past them, at her guards whom stood by the door and returned the gaze "I had a therapist...named Mr. Conway. And I went to see him...because as soon as I left this place...something started to go wrong with me. Like, up here." she said silently, tapping the lighter on her temple.

"I started to become...unresponsive to the friends I made. Dress in sad colors. Talk to myself like I was talking to one of you. I never cried, or smiled, or laughed..._ever_. And he said...I had authentic impulse." Everyone was entirely puzzled and lost. They were exchanging glances, trying to get her to look at them. "...But he never told me more than that. He said the best prescription he could give me was to go to church more often. But I just laughed and told him church is for unfortunate souls...who need some _fraud_ to believe in." She growled as she switched on the lighter. Kaname put a hand on her wrist and she looked up.

"What the hell is this, a campfire? I'm not going to sing kumbaya with you people." Kaname frowned. "Yuki...are you alright?" he asked. "I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to my friends." she said nodding her head in her servants' direction. Sara frowned. "No wonder she attacked Sara, she's completely deranged." Kain scoffed. Takuma frowned at him. "Yuki, I think you just need to rest." Kaien said. "Oh, God I think I'm going to vomit again if I don't get something to eat." she said, as she got up. Kain tried to restrain her from getting up, but her skeleton-faced servants pushed him away.

"Boys, go get me something bloody raw, I really will take anything at this point." she requested. They nodded and left. Kaname was able to get her back in bed, but when Kaien tried to take her lighter away she was close to losing her mind. He looked to Kaname. "This could just be a mild case of dementia. I'll call a doctor for her in the morning." "I don't want a doctor! I just want my food and I'll be fine." "Just try and ask her some questions Kaname...she'll calm down." Takuma suggested. Kaname leaned forward to his sister. "Yuki, what did Sara say to you?" he asked. She shrugged like a child and sat back. "Who cares? We don't listen to her anyways. Isn't that right, Takuma?" she laughed.

He swallowed, looking at her sickly image. "She's so refined in front of her peers but you would know. When she's not around Kaname or anybody at school but you...she's so maipulative, she's almost sadistic. She always refers to herself as impatient and sadistic, huh? She likes to watch you in pain." His bangs fell over his eyes. The other three were completely dismayed. "How would you know that?" he asked quietly. She leaned forward setting her chin on her knees and licked her lips.

**_"I know everything."_**


	15. XV

After that day, things seemed to die down over the next few weeks. Sara had agreed to stay away from Yuki, but Yuki made no promises to stay out of trouble. But on another note, after that day Yuki seemed completely normal, but still reserved as ever. He was worried. Kaien had set her up with a therapist as planned, but only one session had taken place, the therapist claiming Yuki was completely normal but that she needed to stop taking her meds. Kaname hadn't known she even had medication. No one did. "I lied so I didn't have to take therapy anymore. I'm not crazy, I just have a different way of operating." he overheard her say to a fellow night student.

She was the same when she spoke to him. Completely in her kind of normal: quiet and making odd remarks. Kaien, worried for her sake as well, had agreed with Lord Kaname to place her in the moon dorms where she regain a better hold on her vampire instincts. But this had only made her excel in her distant nature. She had yet to attend her first night class; she had requested a dorm room to herself, rather than having a roommate; and she rarely came out of that dorm, but when she did, she'd disappear for hours. Kaname knocked on her door one night. "Yuki." he said. No answer. He knocked again. "Yuki, may I come in?" "I'm busy." she responded.

That was the first he'd heard her voice in days, which signaled him that there was, in fact, a very much alive Yuki inside. Not heeding to her request, he came in anyway. Inside he was distraught, but he was completely unfazed on the outside. Her walls were completely covered in drawings. Different symbols and people ansd creatures...all drawn to look like professional art. There she sat on her bed, hand sketching like a car going 60 miles per hour. "It's...almost time for class. Have you been drawing all this time?" he asked. Her hand froze as she looked around. "No...I don't want to go to class." she simply said. He frowned and sat by her.

"Yuki...has something happened...to make you act this way. Moodswings, illness, locked doors, the drawing?" "No, not at all." She went back to drawing. He stopped her hand and she looked at him. "Yuki, I need you to be honest with me. I'm your brother, you can tell me anything that's bothering you." he said softly. She blinked, her countenance as straight as a possible. "I'm perfectly fine, brother. It just takes time...to adjust into a new skin." she said. He nodded...even if it didn't answer his question. Sometimes he wondered...did she act this way to get back at him from hiding so many secrets from her?

Was there something going on that she didn't share because he hadn't opened up to her? His thoughts were interrupted when she hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her and set his chin on her head. "Is something wrong?" "...Feed me, Kaname." she said into his neck. He felt her warm hand on his chest, her small body pushed upon his and he melted into her hands, putting a hand on the back of her neck. "Take what you need, Yuki." he said into her hair. She smirked into his lips dragging her tongue across his pure white skin, and when he felt her sharp teeth piercing his neck he was in ecstasy. "Yuki...let me..." He didn't finish before his fangs dug into her neck.

She moaned as she drank his blood. Her bite started to hurt...but it felt like heaven to him. Suddenly his eyes widened as her rich blood made images flash in his head.

_She was screaming at the top of her lungs.  
For them to let her go.  
At first all he could see was half of her face, covered in tear stains and dirt.  
A group of mens' silhouettes, illuminated by a bonfire, made the vision dreary as they chanted.  
"NO! PLEASE." the girl screamed.  
Her blood-curdling cries reached their max volume as the risen dagger went straight into her heart.  
She was struck a total of seven more times...  
Before he saw Yuki's pained face suddenly become straight...her eyes rolling up in her head._

He pulled away, startled and worried; and she did the same, her mouth covered in blood. "Sorry, I know I bite hard." she said as she wrapped her arms around him. "Yuki..." his whisper came out in a deep tone. She smiled despite his serious expression. "Don't be so serious, love." she said as she crashed her lips against his. He didn't hesitate to kiss back...but his eyes were open, thriving in fear. She kept her eyes closed, but her hand ran over her bitemarks.

**Her deep, ****_human teeth _****bitemarks.**


	16. XVI

Zero stood by the lake, during the serene and quiet day when school was in session. The lake...this is where he had the dream. He could still see it...like a mirage as clear as day. The lake waters turning thick and crimson. Her flawless, bare, bloody body arising onto the shore. It was the worst nightmare he'd had in years. He no longer just hated Yuki Kuran...he despised her. She wasn't a vampire and he knew it. At least...she wasn't _just _a vampire. "You found my hiding spot." he heard a voice break his thoughts. There Yuki stood, as if his thoughts had summoned her. With instinct, he pointed the bloody rose at her. She shook her head. "Your threats have no meaning to me." she said in a hushed voice. He glared at her.

"How did you do it?" he growled. "Whatever do you mean?" "How did you get in my head?!" She stared tediously. "It is not...'how'. It is 'why'. Because your mind's guard is let down near me, Zero." she replied. He cocked the gun. "You lead yourself to believe I am not better than the other immortals in this school, but...I am in fact more." "Shut up." "You try your hardest to hate me...but you love me as I love you." she said. "Shut up!" he shouted. He shot...but she caught the bullet. There the shiny outcome lay, between her index and thumb, right between the eyes. He choked on his gasp. "Do not lie to yourself Zero...things are becoming quite messy around here as it is and you wouldn't want to make it worse."

He fell to his knees, bangs over his eyes. She dropped the bullet and knelt in front of him, looking upon him as if he were her child. "My sweet, sweet boy..." she mumbled. "Accept your feelings. Because it's unfair of _us_...to not feel something for each other when we've known each other so long..." He looked up at her, confusion and anxiety in his eyes. _How had she done it...make him fall to pieces in an instant_? _What sorcery was this_? She planted a soft kiss on his temple and set her forehead against his. "Don't you love me?" she purred. He swallowed shakily. "...yes..." he croaked. "Don't you want me? To protect me?" By this time she was slinking back in a slow crab walk, as he began to crawl on top of her. "Yes."

He planted a firm kiss on her lips and she pulled him close. "No...no..STOP." he hissed. He quickly ripped away, breaking the kiss and releasing her leg from his waist. She sat up on the glassy lakeside, licking her lips. "Don't play mind games with me, vampire!" "Oh, well. I tried." she sighed heavily, as she started to strip from her clothes. His eyes widened as he turned away. "I just came for a swim." He glared as she slowly descended into the water, then whipped around and stormed off. She closed her eyes as she let herself fall back into the water. She was fully submerged when the water turned into blood..._as red as a rose_.

* * *

Sara sat in the main school's library. Not a soul was inside, except for her and Takuma. Takuma was silent as she looked through every book there was on foreign translations. Every since that day a few weeks ago...Takuma had been nervous. He had now been pulled into the war between the three splits: Yuki vs. Sara vs. Kaname and his disciples. But he hadn't known his side... "What are you looking for anyways, Sara?" he asked. She scanned each page thoroughly. "_That day_...she snapped at me. She said soemthing in a different tongue...and whatever language it is...and whatever it means...it will help my case." she answered. She held up a slip of paper to him. _Promiscua devorat sordibus tuis totum, miser damnatorum, _it read. He frowned.

"And what is your case?" She looked at him. "I will prove Yuki-sama is not who anyone thinks she is." He frowned. "And if you are with me Takuma, you will help me...but if you wish for your spot in the future council to vanish...then please. Keep on Kaname or Yuki-sama's behalf." she snapped. He swallowed. Sara...she'd done so much for him. But Kaname had been his friend for all his life. And Yuki was an innocent young girl but...she gave him doubt; still he considered her a friend. But he knew what he had to do...everything would turn out the same in the end anyway. "...It's in Latin." he said silently. She smirked and took out the small translation book. After a few moments she grew a dark countenance and an eerie smile. "May your promiscuous filth...eat you whole...child of the damned." she translated. She chuckled darkly under her breath.

**"Oh, but Miss Kuran...I believe it already has."**


	17. XVII

They all sat in the dorm lounging area. Kaname had declared that he'd had an announcement to make, but most of the attention was on Yuki, whom most night students found entertaining and interesting. Indeed...she was the most beautiful of them all...the most unique...but in certain students' eyes...it was dangerous. "Did she really attack Sara-sama? She looks pretty harmless." Rima said. "Well...expect the unexpected as she said." Kain sighed. Suddenly, Kaname appeared at the top of the staircase with Takuma and everyone was silent. Yuki stood at the bottom of the staircase with a bored expression. "This year, it is our turn to host the Winter Ball." he started.

Some students groaned, most began to whisper. Yuki clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "And the committee in charged has decided the theme, as _Black & White Masquerade_." While Kaname and Takuma went over details, Yuki scoffed. A "Black and White" ball? How mainstream. As the announcement audience was dismissed, Yuki started up the stairs to her dorm room; a few night class boys followed asking her, tempting her...begging her (some even on their knees) that she'd go with them. She only gave them her chilling, yet smooth smile as she reached the top of the stairs.

As if there were a forcefield of radiating caution, they all backed off when Kaname flashed them his dark and death-asserting stare and took Yuki's wrist. She turned to him slowly. "May I be the first to ask you to the ball?" he said. "I believe they already beat you to it, brother." she said softly. "Well then may I have an answer?" She stared at him a moment then leaned forward. "Persuade me." And with a simple mischievious wink, she was already disappearing down the dim hallways.

* * *

And so this is what Kaname did. Up until the final two days until the ball, he tried to persuade her. He'd gotten 2 rejections and 3 maybes. His sister must have been enjoying this game just a little too much, because while he used his temptations...whispering in the ear, tickling the wrist, talking about the multiple offers he'd gotten...she used her own temptation like a gun to his head. She may have not thought so but he'd picked it up. Playing with the buttons on her shirt, letting herself flash the black lace lingerie under her clothes; twirling her hair around her finger; the way she'd look at him, scoff, then look away. He had no idea she was like him in most areas of teasing.

But he believed with this last chance to win her over (practically demanding a 'yes')...he'd win this flirtatious game. She sat in her room painting her nails a blood red. Just as she finished applying it upon her last fingernail, a knock came at the door. She turned her head and the door seemed to open on its own. Seiren stood silent, watching the door open itself. "What?" Yuki said tediously. Seiren bowed as she held out the box. "A gift from Lord Kaname, Princess Yuki." she said. Yuki got up and took the box curious, dismissing Seiren with a hand. She set the box on her bed opening it slowly. _Perhaps this will bring back a few memories. I will see you at the ball - Kaname, _the note read. She rolled her eyes tossing it over her shoulder, pulling out the She tilted her head and scoffed. It could use a bit of adjustment.


	18. XVIII

She sat at her vanity, as the snow fell softly outside. She'd done her hair just for the occasion...yet it was losing its color, its solid mahogany brown turning into a mocha. There were bags under her eyes, and she had wasted half a bottle of her foundation trying to cover up the washy white of her face. Meanwhile, Sara was in her own room, but she wasn't half ready. She stared at herself long and hard in the mirror. Her hair was done, her makeup looked amazing, her diamond earrings brought out her eyes but...that's not what she was admiring. It was the fact tonight she'd be exposing Yuki Kuran.

After the ball, everyone would gather back at their dorms, the day class going to bed and the night class continuing the celebration till morning...everyone would be in one place and that's when she'd strike. If she could make Yuki lose her mind just as she had in the prior month, then surely they'd see Sara was bigger than her...that she had purpose. But even Takuma didn't know why she was so determined to destroy Princess Yuki. He followed Kaname and Shiki out of the moon dorms, to be early for the arriving students. He still was weary on what path to choose.

His close friend whom was against Sara's ideals...his fortunate "sweetheart" who'd done so much for him...or the young girl he knew was innocent, and is being accused of so much faults these days. As for Kaname, the only thing on his mind was to see his siter tonight in that dress. It was pure white lace, with a ruffled skirt and long lace sleeves, with a black sash around the waist. But there were so many white dresses in the room, she was hard to spot. But by the time the ball was an hour in, Kaname grew worried. Perhaps she wasn't attending at all...he hadn't seen her. "Akatsuki...have you seen Yuki?" he asked, lifting up his black crow mask. Akatsuki looked at him, fidgeting with his mask, and shrugged. "I saw her earlier today, didn't look too good. I don't think she's gonna make it." he replied. Just then, Sara walked in, and all attention was on her.

She wore a stunning black dress with a red waist sash that tied in the back, ending the V of her bare back; this was accompanied with a red rose choker and black lace gloves. Men were at her feet asking for a dance, but she walked straight over to Kaname. "Oh...I thought your sister might have been on her leash at your side." she smirked. He glared at her with a faint smile. "You look lovely Sara." he said. "Thank you, Kaname. You look very nice as well. May I have a dance while you wait for your princess?" As much as he wished to say no, he saw the look in Sara's eyes where something absolutely malevolent was about to take place.

As they danced, he only stared at the front entrance. "What are you up to Sara? I hope you've been staying away from my sister as asked." he said. "I've been a good girl, Kaname. But after tonight...I plan on proving that she isn't as pure as what you take her for." He shot her a dirty look. "And what would you know about _my_ Yuki? You know nothing but being spoiled and getting the last word." "Don't all purebloods, Kaname? We know you and her are all the same." There was a pause, a staring contest seeming to ensue, but they failed to break it when all heads turned once more as a girl in a pure white dress entered.

Takuma, Akatsuki, and Hanabusa's masks couldn't hide their awe...not knowing whom it was at first. But as her head tilted up, the light of the dim ballroom caught the shine of her black metal mask that only decorated one side of her face. Yuki. "Whoa..." Akatsuki said. It was easy to tell exactly who it was, once the red rose crown on her head was made a symbol of her identity. But her dress wasn't in the same condition as she got it in. She had cut off the sleeves and used the lengthy back sash as the straps and the ribbon that held her dress in place on her chest and her now bare back; all this tied with black gloves and her dirty combat boots that peaked from under her dress. She walked towards them. "Who wants to show me off first?" she smirked.

Takuma took his chance, taking Yuki's hand. Hanabusa was paralyzed watching he walk away, Akatsuki with a cocked brow. Takuma and Yuki began to waltz. "You were quick to take the offer, you must have feelings for me." she chuckled. He looked to Kaname and Sara, who still waltzed. "Yuki...just tell me already. What are you trying to do? Sara's done wrong but...you have to. Why can't you come clean as well?" he said. She smiled pulling him closer. "Because that's not how it works, love." she said, running her black gloved hand down his arm. "Well then how can we solve this? You two are going to end up tearing the night dorms apart."

"Only if she chooses to delve any further into my life." Takuma swallowed. "Yuki, I am sorry but...I cannot help that...and I wouldn't understand why Sara acts the way she does. But I do hope this all resolves and no one gets hurt." She frowned at him. "I think you'd be wise to understand...the devil is in details." she whispered to him. "...I beg your pardon?" he asked. She put two hands on his face. "...Takuma your a good man...don't let what's to come tarnish your purity. Friends or not...lovers or not." "Yuki-sama-" She kissed him gently on the cheek. "You have so much." As Kaname came over to claim his sister, Takuma was left speechless.

She looked at him over her shoulder and mouthed something, but he couldn't understand.


	19. XIX (bug fix)

As they danced, Kaname looked her up and down questioningly, noticing she'd...made a few changes to her dress. But he didn't say anything; it looked as beautiful on her as when he imagined it...especially with the rose crown made of real roses. "It seems Takuma beat me to the first dance." he said. She had that same poker face on that she always wore. "Wasn't the first dance with Sara?" she asked. He leaned in. "No need to be jealous." "What would I have to envy of her?" He sighed as he pulled her a bit closer. "Let's not worry about her, Yuki." he said into her hair. She set her chin on his shoulder, burying her nose in his neck while she watched Zero from afar, who stared straight back.

"He seems to be more interesting than me." Kaname said. "I have to watch over him...he's been a bit busy lately." she said. He frowned, seeing Zero's hateful stare in their direction. "But no need to be 'jealous' right?" He looked at Yuki who smiled innocently, but the minute he smiled, pulling up his mask to plant a kiss on her lips, her gaze was dark once more; Zero was still exchanging glares with her while Kaname couldn't seem to tear himself away from her perfect, warm lips. A while later, Takuma and Sara stood on the balcony of the ballroom, looking over the lake from afar. "Please, just listen to me for once." Takuma said to Sara. Sara took a sip of her wine.

"I will not back down, Takuma. We all know there's something not right about her...and I fear it's more than just deadly to the ideal peace in this academy." she said. "Sara, Yuki-sama does not believe in creating so much chaos! Neither should you!" Akatsuki walked over. "Hey, have either of you seen the princess?" he said, lifting his mask. "No, we haven't." Sara answered. "If you see her, tell her Lord Kuran is looking for her." And with that, he went back to search. Just then, Sara saw a head full of dark hair and red roses go down the hall on the far left of the room. "I'll be back." She followed the girl down the hall, the bathroom door still closing by the time she reached her.

When she saw Yuki, her first thought was to try and make her confess...but that was until she saw her tucking away in the corner by the sinks trying to gather her breath. "Ah...her breath taken away by her own filthy nature." Sara sneered. "Out..." Yuki croaked. Takuma came in next, locking the door. When he saw Yuki, he hurried over to her. "Yuki?" he said. "Away...get away...!" she coughed. Suddenly, just as it had happened in the past, the black liquid spilled from her mouth just missing her dress. Takuma stoood frozen...unsure what to say. Sara frowned "...it's blood." she muttered. She looked at Yuki, who stood backed against the wall, weezing and trying to stop shaking.

She grabbed Yuki's neck. "What...are you?" she growled. "Sara stop!" Takuma snapped trying to pull her away. She shoved him into a wall. "Say it...what is it you're hiding you little bitch!" Takuma was amazed. He'd never seen Sara so angry or heard her cuss at all. Yuki only stared blankly, muttering the Latin language under her breath. Her gloves had disappeared, and she'd lost her beautiful mask in her vomit. She slammed Yuki into the wall. Yuki's muttering only got louder, before she blew Sara into the wall next to Takuma, vanishing into a thick black mist. Sara whispered things to herself. "What?" Takuma asked shakily. "Follow her...follow her!"

Takuma and Sara ran out of the bathroom, startling Kaname, Akatsuki and Seiren as they walked out of the women's room and straight past like a lightning bolt.


	20. XX

Kaname pinned him against a building. "How long will it take you to accept she chose me?" he growled. Zero held his gun to his head. "_She _went after _me_!" he said. "Just cool it vampire...I want nothing to do with her. She's just like you!" "That's not what it looked like." Zero glared, scoffing that Kuran had gotten the wrong idea.

* * *

_Yuki had followed him to the lake, where he stood looking out over the water on the dock. "You spend a lot of time out here." she said. "Leave me alone." he snapped. She came up behind him. "Zero...I'm sorry. For what I did the other day. I really shouldn't have done something like that." "What? Try and seduce me? Put me in a trance like any other vampire could do?" He scoffed. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't touch me." he said and shook her away. "Zero...I love you. Please..." she said in her innocent voice. "Love me? Yeah right. You're Kuran's property and you enjoy it. I saw you." She turned him to her, making him look in her eyes._

"...Love me too." she said in a silky voice. His face drew blank. She pulled him back, and he took over from there, pushing her up against a tree. She pulled him closer by his coat. "I wore that black lingerie you like..." she whispered to him, laying her head back against the tree. He began to kiss her neck, his two fingers wrapped around the suspender on her thigh under her dress, when she felt a pair of eyes. She shoved him away. "Zero stop it!" she pretended. "Yuki..." he moaned trying to kiss her again. She pushed him back. "I don't understand, you said you didn't love me..." When he tried pin her against the tree's hard trunk, she blew him straight across the lakefront.

"Don't ever touch me again!" she screamed. And with that...Zero woke from his trance...and she was gone, leaving a few rose petals from her crown as she travelled back to the ball.

* * *

"She was the one-" Kaname began to choke him. As their battle traveled down the stone path of the school. Meanwhile, Takuma and Sara had followed her to the stables. Takuma tried to open the doors...but they were locked...and the padlock wasn't even on the doors tonight. "I smell blood." Sara said. He tensed, and used this to blow open the doors. The lights weren't on...except for one down at the very end in the open area. They could see the ruffles of Yuki's dress in the dimmed room...and the horses were going ballistic. Under the light was the carcass of a horse. His stomach had been gouged open, intestines and all pulled from the stomach.

Sara dared not take a step closer, Takuma slowly getting closer. "Yuki..." he said calmly. The horses went wild and started to kick when Kaname shoved Zero inside making him hit a stall.

**Here it was coming together...all in one place.  
Sara's plans would be put to action.  
Yuki's true identity was to be revealed.  
And all four...were to be judged on this night.**

The stable doors slammed shut, a gust of wind exiting and making the room cold. Kaname froze, seeing the number of bodies there were in the room. Zero did the same. "Yuki..." Takuma said shakily, disappearing into the darkness where she sat. Kaname grew closer, fear taking over his body hearing his sister's name in such anxiety. Zero swallowed. "Where's the heart...?" he asked, as he looked at the horse, who was missing the organ. Sara stood her ground, a smirk growing on her face as Kaname stopped next to her, gawping at the horse's remains. Zero stayed back...and everyone's heart pumped faster and faster. Takuma was thrown across the room.

She stepped out into the light. All the roses of her crown have wilted or fallen off, the thorns grown to be the main decoration; her hair was a tangled mess that still dripped her black venom. There was blood smeared on her lips and chin, trickling down into her bust. Her dress was covered in blood and the bottom layers had ripped, revealing her filthy old combat boots. And what scared them the most...her eyes had glowing amber rings around the irises.

"I should kill you all!" she screamed. Zero had his gun ready, Sara stood with wide eyes trying not to seem fearful; Takuma stood back with Zero; Kaname left puzzled, a bit afraid, and wanting to save her. Suddenly she just stopped, dropping the half-eaten horse heart at their feet, tears pouring from her eyes. "I didn't want it...but I liked it..." she weeped. "Purity is a lie...all the things I tried to stay away from..." No one knew what to do. Suddenly it was almost horrific and spin chilling as the crying stopped and everything was completely still.

"What did I do...? I don't understand! And- and- I'm so scared-" she cried. Kaname went to try and reason with her, but she used some kind of telekinetic power to force him away. "The U-umanï..." Sara squinted at recognition of those words. She swallowed the black blood that tried to make an appearance.

"...But in the end...only one of five will-" She began to cough and gag...until the spirit was evicted from her body. She crouched inward, trying to regain her breath. It was over.


	21. XXI

He sat in his office in a daze. "..._Purity is a lie...all the things I tried to stay away from..._" Rang in his ears. This had to be a dream. She had been locked away in the imprisonments below the school for almost 5 days. But he had a feeling in his stomach that wouldn't hold her. He wasn't sure how he should react...what he should do. That night...what exactly had he witnessed? It was almost as if his beloved sister had become possessed. He had already shed tears for her sake...when he'd visit her in the imprisonments, only to see her tucked away in a corner with that lighter she loves so much...and an emotionless face covered in tear stains. Today he'd get answers.

Kaname, Takuma, Sara, and Kaien were headed to the imprisonments, to see her and try and get her to assist them in making sense of her demonic possession. Toga Yagari, whom guarded her cell by request, sighed when he approached them going down into the imprisonments, a sketchpad and pencil in hand. "Yagari, I told you to guard her." Kaien sighed. "_It_ was bored ad she wanted something to do, so I think I'd rather not upset it...and do as she wants." he explained monotonously. He opened her cell and handed her the sketchpad and pencil. "Good dog." she said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes and exited, leaving the other four to talk with her. She started drawing right away. "Yuki." Headmaster said.

He knelt down to her, not knowing where to begin. "Has there...been anything going on lately? Ehh...let's take your powers for example." he said, trying to keep a happy tone. She glared at him. "You mean Chindi?" she said, her hand still doodling as she looked up at him. "Chindi?" Kaname asked. "That's her name. The spirit." Kaien rubbed his forehead between his thumb and index. "Yuki-sama, please, we're truly lost and we'd like an explanation. We want to help you." Takuma said. Sara was silent, watching her draw. Her hand abruptly stopped and she held up her sketch pad. Kaname took it looking at it intensely. It was like a professional drawing...and clear as day. It was a picture of death. He'd seen it before. The mourning skeleton, wrapped in shreds, holding the scythe.

Kaname knelt down to her next. "How do you know what she looks like?" he asked wearily. "Kaname, maybe you oughtn't get too close." Sara said. He didn't listen, but Yuki looked straight in Sara's eyes. "Two years ago, I went to a frat party with a friend." she started. Sara frowned. "I was living with her, and for my birthday she wanted to take me out for the night." Yuki said as she picked up the lighter. "She tried to loosen me up...and we had a bit to drink." The lighter flicked on. Everyone was focused intensely on her. "By the time the party was over, she was too drunk to drive home, and I didn't want to get in the car with her." she said.

"And so, this really nice guy comes around, right? Offers me a ride like a gentleman, seems really kind..." She paused with gritted teeth. "As it turned out, he had a car full of friends...about four or five of them. When I saw them looking at me like I was something special or something...I knew this wasn't good." She looked down at the flame, remembering. How her stomach felt when their hungry eyes stared at her...her face, her legs, her chest. "They got me out in the forest." she said hoarsely. Kaname furrowed a brow in disbelief, suddenly placing a hand on her leg. "What happened?" he asked abruptly with a scowl.

"They stabbed my legs...so I couldn't run away. No matter how much I cried, I pleaded...I knew there was no God to save me. There was a gash in my throat and a knife in my heart by the time any help came around. I still have the scars to prove it." She said tracing the thin white line on her throat with her thumb for emphasis. Sara cocked a brow, looking a bit unconvinced. "I knew I wasn't dead because I could see them run away...but there was one who stayed behind and apologized to my corpse. But I was paying attention to the woman behind him." She tapped the paper in Kaien's hand as she stood up. Now that the light from the sewer panel above had illuminated her face, Sara grimaced and other frowned. She was skinny, and not just supermodel skinny, her waist was so small it looked breakable.

She was still beautiful, but her immortal fair skin was currently just a plain ashy white; her hair was a tangled mess that was losing color; but her lips retained their bloody red glow. "She's a spirit." "And what did _Chindi _find so special about you?" Sara sighed. "Hell if I know. But I figure it's easier to trust nothing but a bag of bones rather than a being with a brain. She told me I had a second chance, and I took it. But I asked her a question before I could ask anything else. I asked her why I could feel my pulse. It was supposed to be some black magic crap. You sacrifice a teenage virgin for energy and looks." Takuma looked puzzled. "Wait...how did they know you were a virgin in the first place?" Yuki shrugged.

"Small breast size, I don't know. But Chindi hinted at the fact something went wrong...I guess somewhere along the line I got tapped. Don't ask, I have no idea." Everyone exchanged glances. "I had to figure this whole possession thing out on my own...the most she gave me was what to say, what to do...how to keep from tarnishing. She started to scare me so...I tried to throw myself away in an asylum. The longest I was in there was two months then I was released...they said I seemed normal. The most help I could get from anyone was a blessing. So I took my frustrations out on the people I hated most. I found those frat boys and I skewered their heads on the front gates of their sorority." she said, her voice deepening as she looked to the lighter as if it were a symbol.


	22. XXII

After she was released, the school was in full shock. She was missing, yet again. She left drawings and clothes and possessions...all except the lighter. Kaname was thrown into despair at the feeling of not being able to save his beloved from her fears and the _thing _that tormented her. He knew she'd come back to the academy at night, but only to sleep. Sara and Takuma had backed off the topic of Yuki's persona completely...in fact, no one in the night class let alone the teachers spoke her name. Kaname no longer stayed at the academy, rather at the Kuran mansion, knowing he was targeted by the council.

_Kaname had killed another pureblood...out of his own forming hysteria. Or so Sara told the council._

He had his reliable friends, or pawns, whom kept him out of reach as well Headmaster. He stayed in his room, at his loveseat like at the academy, just staring off. His main priority was finding his sister. And hoping to help her come out of her fear and face it. He ran a hand over his face. He knew his sister was mentally troubled...but he didn't know it could spread. All of this...was his fault. It started when he turned her into a vampire...into a monster. She fought her uncle...took part in his murder...then disappeared for two years...he didn't even try to chase her. If he had been there with her...if he had broken it to her more naturally...maybe they'd be in his room losing their minds together.

* * *

Zero was in utter confusion and dismay at how no one even spoke of Yuki let alone her disappearance except for the day class. Rumors were she was dead, or ran away with a secret lover. He didn't believe any of it. That lunatic was probably locked up somewhere...but why were his insides screaming at him to find her? He didn't know...if anything he just wanted to let her...to let her rot? His feelings were becoming blurry. He looked out his window at the moon as he thought about her. The night of the ball...what was that? He didn't believe in ghosts, let alone demons. She's a pureblood...they all have strange airs and powers...maybe she was just an insane vampire.

Ever since her disappearance...he'd had all sorts of strange feelings. He'd find himself having an uncontrollable urge to pick fights with the night students. He'd have illusions of Yuki singing him to sleep. He'd hear a woman's scream every morning. It had to be her. She was turning him mad...but...why wasn't he upset? Why did he admit...the feeling of going insane was good?

* * *

Takuma and Sarah could admit they were all the same as Zero. The odd cravings and visions. Takuma would have burning desires for Yuki's blood. Sara would have immense mood swings...most taking students' lives. They didn't want to say they were becoming like Yuki. That psychotic woman whom put the whole school in hell. Sara would have odd dreams because of her. Dreaming of her and Yuki having sexual relations or even having that bitch feast on her pureblood flesh with human teeth. Takuma would hear the young girl's heavenly voice whispering dark deeds over his shoulder. To kill an innocent. To bring her blood. To make a mess... This madness was much too strong to fight...

* * *

A storm was picking up. Thunder clapped loudly and the lightning could be seen from hundreds of miles away. The wind blew fiercely as she walked up to his doorstep. She was still trying to regain her consciousness. She hadn't eaten for days. Not an ounce of meat...a drop of blood. She had been dressed in her skin tight long sleeve with a lace up accent between her breasts, with her black skirt and combat boots that were soaked in mud and blood. There were signs of where silver bullets had pierced through her stomach, with a count of six large blood dots on her creme colored shirt.

He heard the knock and called for Seiren. He'd forgotten she had gone back to the academy already. He watched the winds blow the trees for a moment, before he got up to answer the second knock. He smelled blood. He stood at the bottom of the mansion's granite staircase, using the wind's power to open the doors, while he kept ready in case of a council member. No one was there. He used his powers once more to shut the doors and turned. But he felt a presence and slowly turned back around. He walked up to the door formally this time and placed his hand on the handle. He turned his head again. Her silhouette stood behind him, the blood hitting the granite floors. _Plip, plip, plip. _

When he saw her he froze. Her head tilted up a bit from looking at her shoes, blood seeping down one side of her mouth. "Yuki..." Kaname swallowed as he walked toward her. She cringed as she swallowed the blood in her throat. "She said to run...but she didn't tell me what from...and then these men showed up..." He brought her in his arms and it nearly knocked the wind out of her. "I was so worried." he said into the side of her head. She only stared ahead monotonously.


	23. XXIII

She sat in the guest bedroom at the windowseat, looking out the window. The storm had rolled into the early morning, the grandfather clock on the wall playing "Midnight Sun" to mark the arrival of one AM. Her sopping hair dripped onto her robe. Her hysteria had come to the point where it was hard to think straight or impulsivity had taken over...like a bad case of ADHD. Her injuries hadn't healed...yet she added more blemishes to her skin by dragging the long silvery edge of a letter opener along her palm...drawing her blood. It was like looking at a pen's ink, the color so dark it appeared deoxygenated. She leaned her head back against the wall and watched it bleed. Her brother came in.

"If you bleed anymore, you're going to kill yourself." he said as he sat adjacent from her. She scoffed. "What a fantasy that would be." she said. He frowned and took her palm kissing it and healing it. She stayed silent, only watching. She looked to him when he was done as he looked to the smeared blood left behind from the cut. "Black blood." he said as he looked up at her. She smiled a little. "It's better than red. Black is a good color." she replied. He changed the subject as he ran his hand over the blood. "What happened to you? Was it Chindi?" he asked. It felt to him as if he were speaking to a child about an imaginary friend. She looked at him. "No. It was me." she said.

"Even an emotionless person can be afraid. I lied about Chindi..._she's not real._" He frowned. "Why would you lie?" he asked, concerned. "Because none of you would have believed me if I told you the truth. And you would have never let me out of that cell." He took her hands instantly. "I will believe anything you say...just tell me what's happening to you. I've never felt this afraid, Yuki...I feel like any day I could lose you." he said softly. Her eyes went soft at the words as she ran her ring finger over his ring. "There's something bad inside me...Kaname." she said. "In order to come back...I had to let _the right one_ in."

He swallowed. Alright. Maybe he couldn't believe her. "Yuki...you have to-" "I'm not hallucinating." she snapped. "This isn't like movies, okay? This is real. I have these powers and inhuman abilities...that no one could ever have." She swiftly moved his hand over heart. "I came back a human, Kaname...humans can't turn water into blood and they can't look into others' eyes and instantly know _everything_ about them." He was tuned out. He felt completely serene. Her heartbeat...he missed it. He missed her human side. He sprawled his fingers out so his hand could enter her robe to feel the soft skin over her heart.

"But I am still here! I'm yours. I just- I can't be innocent anymore. I'm psychotic and I admit it." She put her hands on his neck and he looked in her eyes. "I know your not my _true_ brother, Kaname.******_You're the progenitor_**... and you're a bad man. But I love you all the same. I know you can do the same for me." She said as her face neared his. He smirked as he stroked her bottom lip. "Perhaps you do have something malevolent about you. Trespassing into my mind like that. But you're right about all of it. I am a horrible man...but I would do anything for you. And if you say you're psychotic...you should realize that I am becoming psychotic, too. You've done something to me...I know its a curse but it feels like a blessing." he replied. She smoothed the hair out of his eyes and smiled.

"Insanity isn't what you feel it should be Kaname. It's letting yourself go and letting in all the blood and death and gruesome reality. But it's better when you have someone to suffer with." She said. He went to say something when she bit into her wrist with her canines and held the blood in her mouth as she took his face. He smirked as he instantly pulled her close and pressed his lips to hers. She slowly started to force him down on the seat, her blood seeping down the sides of his mouth as he untied her robe and let it fall down her shoulders. He closed his eyes...mesmerizing this feeling of her addicting blood flow into him. As her bare and small body pressed up against his, he slowly laid her down, still accepting her blood. Psychopathy was _delicious_.


	24. XXIV

It was winter. Snow was falling and the hibernation of the animals begun. And as the pure white snow fell, like diamonds from above...it only seemed like she was growing more beautiful by the day. The snow brought out her fair skin, and made her lips look cherry red, her black attire complimenting curves of her waist. She hung onto his arm as they left footsteps in the snow. Zero stared ahead, questioning himself if the fact he agreed to spend some time with Yuki was a good idea. She stood at the end of the lake's dock and stared at the frozen water. "So what's this about?" he asked with a sigh. She looked at him sorrowfully.

"You seem like the only person who could understand." she said. He frowned, as she pulled her black knitted cardigan over her shoulders, making it seem to be a part of her spaghetti strap sun dress. "People make mistakes...everyone does. But my mistakes...aren't like everyone else's. I try not to use this... 'gift' as a weapon of destruction. I just have no choice. I'm trying to keep myself alive...no matter how bad each day gets." she continued. Zero shoved his hands in his pockets, pretending like she was sane. "But...you're a pureblood. You'll live forever." he said. She looked at him.

"In order to ascend from death...I had to give up my vampire genes. I'm human...but I have these powers that eat me alive. It makes me miss the depression of being a vampire. All the having to hurt people for a little lifeblood. Not being able to be free...being kept on a leash by a vampiric law. Zero..." She took his warm hands in her ice cold palms, sending a shiver down his spine. He looked at her with a slightly concerned face.

"...I don't want to live like this anymore. I want to be free...I don't want blood or murder or violence in my life anymore. Because I'm afraid. I'm so used to it now...that when someone I love or that was only an acquaintance is gone...all I have to do is shed one small tear and get over it. I want to be normal." she cried, as she looked in his eyes. He didn't know what to do, her eyes on his made his heart fire up...but his head was screaming at him not to comfort her. But in a small moment his hair fell over his eyes, the snow seeming to blend in its silver color. His grasp around her hand grew tighter and his pupils got smaller.

"You think...I'm the one you should be talking about this with?" he growled. Her other hand slid up his muscular arm. "What about Kuran? You-" "I love Kaname. But you're my best friend, too. No matter how you feel about me...I have a spot in my heart for you." She tilted her head as he smirked, stroking her palm with his thumb. "Even if that were true...you know just as well as anyone. I don't have a tender heart. I was born to be a cold blooded killer. Of vampire kind...and any other supernatural force that threatens society. There's a deep darkness in me...and I _know _**you planted it there.**" He pulled her to him.

"You were the one that placed the dark seed in my heart and turned me into a monster. Dreaming about you, taunting me, making me a puppet. I heard you whisper to me...to kill those who questioned your authority. Your power. And I did. I killed the assassins that **the council sent for you**. And now I'm your puppet. Is that enough?" he hissed. She cupped his face. "Much." she said softly. He planted a harsh kiss on her lips and she pulled him closer by the coat. He pushed her up against the dock post, kissing her neck and holding her waist. "Such a bad boy. Coveting what another man has." she snickered, blankly staring over his shoulder. His hand slid up the long skirt of her sun dress, playing with the black lingerie underneath. His fangs emerged and made their mark on her skin. The ink that ran in her veins flowed down his throat.


	25. XXV (bug fix)

Sara stood at the bottom of a long staircase. Everything around her seemed to fade into the black walls except white furniture. Suddenly she heard music and she jumped as something hot touched her foot. Blood had come seeping down the stairs and into her peep toe heels. "Kaname-sama?" She called, expecting an answer. The vocalist's voice grew louder as she emerged up the staircase. She opened the door from which the music was coming from. A shadow danced next to her, projected by the girl dancing in front of the envious moon shining through the window.

She twirled and thrashed her long, floor length, skirt around. Sara took a step back, not knowing who it could be. She recognized the dark brown hair as the girl's heeled boots clacked on the wood floors, everything going black except for the girl and her full-length mirror, hit by a spotlight. "Sara," she said once she noticed Sara's presence. "Come dance with me." She laughed as she watched herself dance in the mirror, her long hair a mess. "Yuki-sama-" Sara was completely confused.

"We haven't seen you in weeks, where have you been?" she questioned. "What does it matter? Let loose, just forget about this whole situation." Yuki answered. Her pendants and bangles jingled as she spun and danced in place. Something seemed to creak or moan in the room. No, not the floorboards, but someone. "...Are we alone?" Sara asked sternly. "She's watching. She likes it when I dance." Yuki chuckled. "Who?" Sara asked. "Chindi." Yuki answered.

Sara scowled under her breath and grabbed Yuki's arm. "Yuki-sama. Chindi is not real. I am sick and tired of the lies you get off on. What is this really? A new power? Drugs? Perhaps both." she hissed. Yuki tugged her arm away. "None. I'm simply welcoming a new life. I feel free." Yuki said calmly in response as she continued to dance. She kept looking to the mirror. Sara choked on her gasp. There was a dark figure...standing right next to Sara's reflection. "Is this good? Am I a good dancer?" Yuki asked. The figure didn't move. Yuki ran a hand through her hair as she stopped dancing with a heavy sigh, and looked to Sara. The figure in the mirror walked out of sight and the scene changed. They were back in a dorm room.

"Sara, you needn't call me for this." Yuki purred. "I wouldn't even think to have welcomed you into my dreams anyways, you idiot." Sara said. Yuki now appeared in a tight tank top and skirt. "Oh no. I mean...you've welcomed me into your subconscious. So we could talk." Yuki said as she took a lock of Sara's hair in her hand. "You want me to give any secrets I might have to you...so you can use them against me. You still want me to suffer because of your own defeats. You want my brother at your arm as well as Takuma, and to get me out of the picture, but my dear..." Yuki took a breath pause as she let go of Sara's hair. "No matter what...I will always be posed and ready in the portrait." she finished.

Sara glared, unbelieving in the fact she might just hate Yuki-sama more than she already did. "But, so will you." "Get out of my head. This discussion is over." Sara scowled. Yuki tilted her head as she stepped closer. "You don't understand yet? How stupid are you?" she said. "You are one of her chosen Sara. We know everything about you. Your motives, your body language...your dreams."

Sara tensed as Yuki's fingers ran over her face. "You want to not only win my brother, you want to use him for your chances of being the pureblood queen. Please, do try. He hates you Sara...but I don't. You're my greatest pawn." She said, pulling on the laces of sara's bustier dress. Yuki took a step back, taking off her own clothes. "Let's play teacher." Yuki said in her silky, mature voice. Sara's body moved on its own as she copied Yuki's actions. There, suddenly appearing, one of Yuki's skeletal minions stood frozen. Yuki held out an axe that appeared from no where. "Lesson 1: Kill him."

Sara involuntarily grabbed the axe and took a step toward him. "The head." Yuki whispered over her shoulder. Sara's muscles quickly acted as she swung the axe and his held came tumbling at Yuki's feet. Both girls were covered in blood, Yuki biting her lip in ecstasy, Sara quivering in anxiety. "How did you do that?" she yelled angrily. "I didn't Sara...you did." Yuki said quietly as she took her hands. "Lesson 2...don't feel remorse. This is what it means to be psychotic. It breathes life into you...when you try and feel nothing. It will try and hurt us, but you shouldn't be afraid." Yuki pulled her toward her bed. "I can protect you." The blood on Yuki's skin turned black, like ink. It was her blood.

Yuki lied down, Sara already (also involuntarily) licking the blood off her skin. Yuki leaned back, letting her pawn do as she wished. Once she was no longer bloodied at the stomach and chest, she sat up. Yuki's bra strap came off her shoulder as she put a hand behind Sara's head and leaned in. "You won't remember most of this...but when you wake up...you'll feel a sense of servitude." Yuki said into Sara's lips. Sara involuntarily kissed Yuki and bit into her neck...over the bitemarks others had left.


	26. XXVI

She lied in bed as he kissed and bit her neck. Her face was blank as she scanned the ceiling, barely blinking at all. "You'll leave a mark." she sighed. He could barely bring himself to take his lips off her perfect skin as he worked up to her jawline. "It'd be the same as marking my territory." he said against her neck. She looked to the window, as the thunder and lightning clapped in sync outside. He stopped as he lied next to her, Yuki looking in his direction. "Why did you kill him?" she asked.

"Who?" he asked with a frown. "Hanabusa's father." she replied. Kaname frowned and sat up on one elbow. "Who told you this?" he asked. "I know everything. Kaname." She said, straddling on his lap. "All I want to know is why." she said. He sighed as he played with a lock of her hair.

"He was a danger to us, Yuki. He knows the Kuran family too well and to let him go on would mean our decline."

"You killed a man out of anxiety he'd overturn our family? You let such a thing as..._fear_drive you to homicidal desire?" she asked. "You undermine what you're capable of with _acception_. Fear's not an option when you've have no soul." she said as she leaned a little closer.

Hypnotized by her words, he pulled her to him quickly giving her a passionate kiss. He smiled as she pulled away and ran a hand through his hair. "You always have something odd to say. I'll miss that." he said as he sat up.

She frowned as he started getting dressed, sitting still. "You're leaving." She said through gritted teeth, her tank top strap falling off her shoulder. He buttoned up his shirt as he looked over his shoulder at her.

"I have plans, Yuki. Plans that will change the vampire world. And I'm sorry I never told you about them. I just wanted you to enjoy our time." he said. She stood up and took her place inches from him "You can't just leave and decide to go play ripper with the council and other purebloods. You are making a mistake. You will die before the end of your plans." she growled. He frowned. He'd never mentioned any of it to her, but the fact she seemed so keen on stopping him was expected. "You don't even understand yet. You are-" "Yuki." he interrupted, putting his hand on her face. She stared long and hard into his matching mahogany eyes as he slowly kissed her forehead.

"I'll have Takuma and Sara watch over you. Thank you. For giving me a meaning." He kissed her one last time, before disappearing from her sight. She stood quiet at the window as she watched him walk away from the Kuran Mansion and into the thick fog outside. The window's glass cracked under her harsh concentration and the thunder clapped in sync with the sound of the shatter. The grey of the outside weather put a slight glow on her skin.

At this moment, any man would be at her feet at the slightest look of her radiance. Her skin was pale, her hair long and thick, and her beauty was stronger than any sunset as the demonic voice that seemed to come from nowhere whispered,

"_You'll be back_."


	27. XXVII

He'd read every nonfiction, every documentary, every encyclopedia, every historical forum, every science fiction book he could think of that would somehow explain this paranormal phenomena. Parapsychology, demonology, even psychopathology gave him clues left and right. He hadn't slept in two days, ignoring Sara's _demands_ and Kaname's _requests_. He was afraid for her; now more than ever. Yuki was this young and sweet girl he'd known since she first started at the Academy. She was always so full of life, so positive, and kind. Now it's almost as if she's become a whole different person. She wasn't out to hurt anyone directly, except for anyone "Chindi" might have told her to kill.

He had notes all over his room, trying to decode this odd happening and the minute he picked up the D_emonology Legend Encyclopedia_, his eyes were wide in terror. Suddenly it didn't matter how many notes he'd made, how many other books full of information he'd read, or the fact Sara and Kaname were both angry with his neglectful behavior. It was this one book that truly mattered. He took the book, charging out of the dorms and grabbing Sara's attention as she followed. She shoved him back into a tree, causing him to drop the book. "Takuma." she said in an irritated tone. "Sara I don't have time! I have to find Kaname, Yuki, someone! Yuki-sama is in danger." he said in a heavy tone. She frowned. "Takuma-" "Call a car." he interrupted.

"You are driving my patience. We need to-" She was cut off as Takuma grabbed Sara's arm tightly. "_I said._ Call a car, Sara." She watched in utter dismay as he walked off. What was the use of calling a car if Takuma was choosing to walk anyway? She followed him to an old council building, which almost no one used anymore. Kaname was seen on the highest floor in the window...his back to them. Takuma froze. Kaname's image from the window...was blurred with a thick red substance all over the glass.


	28. XXVIII

He tore the doors open, not a person _alive _in sight to greet him like usual. "Kaname!" Takuma screamed. No answer. Sara frowned as she stayed in the doorway. "Takuma calm yourself. What's happened?" she asked, becoming a bit concerned. Takuma ran up the stairs at light speed at the sound of glass breaking. Upstairs was Kaname, hands covered in blood and three other purebloods, dead at his feet with fist-sized holes in their chests. Takuma's eyes widened. "Kaname..." he swallowed. Kaname turned to them slowly, eyes hungry for more blood shed. Sara stood her ground, smirking upon the scene. "Psychotic and just as handsome covered in blood." she chuckled. Kaname's gaze set on Sara, letting her know she was next to bite the dust. Takuma stood in front of her protectively.

"Kaname, we'll deal with this later. Yuki-sama is in danger!" he said, panic in every syllable of his last sentence. "She's a danger to herself, Takuma. And I have my own plans to take care of. That is why I entrust her to you." Kaname said in a calm voice as he tried to put a hand on Takuma's shoulder. Takuma shoved him away, with a frown and shaking his head. "...How could you act this way, Kaname? Like some blood thirsty brat! Like Rido..." Takuma growled. "Yuki-sama needs to be saved now more than ever and you repay her by being two-faced!" Kaname frowned, sending his friend into the wall with his powers.

Takuma stayed in the wall for a moment, breathing angrily. "_THE HOST_!" Takuma shouted at the top of his lungs. Kaname and Sara jumped, shocked Takuma would yell. "The mood swings, the manipulation of the subconscious, constant vomiting..." Takuma panted. "Yuki-sama...is the host of a demonic parasite. Please...you don't understand what could happen if we don't save her." "Takuma that's ridiculous, being possessed by a demon? Demons don't even exist.

She's just as psychopathic as her brother." Sara snickered, not believing Takuma's story. He held up the book. "_Sara! _She is subject to an evil entity and if we don't remove it immediately...it will manifest into its own persona. Her body will be damaged, destroyed by the entity inside, and she will die." Takuma panted.

Kaname's eyes said he was conflicted whether to believe the story. Sara wasn't the least bit interested. "Please...I wouldn't make this up." Takuma said, turning to the page about the parasite. Kaname scanned it once and sighed tediously. "It's an old book Takuma. And have you ever seen a vamp-"

"She's human." Kaname interrupted Sara. "After she supposedly 'passed on' she was brought back human." he continued. "Which only makes it worse..." Takuma muttered. Takuma looked at the two back and forth...while they made no sound and no movement. "If you don't help her...I will." he said, looking at Kaname in disappointment.

Sara made her leave first. Takuma stayed staring at Kaname. "And whatever this '_plan'_ is...whatever you think you can prove...only makes you as foolish as you always have been, Kaname. I hope you'll wake up one day and realize you're turning into your Uncle, and maybe Yuki-sama and everyone else will forgive you." He hit Kaname's shoulder on the way out.


	29. XXIX

"Are you serious? A demon?" Zero sighed. "Don't tell me you believe all that paranormal crap she put in your head. She played that card on me as well. I think it's just overdue angst, or hysteria. She's looking for excuses to something that happened while she was gone. She'll get over it." "That's the problem." Takuma swallowed. They sat in the moon dorm gardens, as Takuma pulled out a file. "I found this man, Francis Verona. He's a priest from a Catholic Church in the area that has come in contact with Yuki before." Zero frowned. "He said Yuki-sama had come to 'confess her sins' quite a bit, and that she had a lot of disturbing things to say each time...so she had to be lying about what happened to her in the 2 years." Takuma said. Zero frowned as he took the file from him.

He was ordained priest not long ago, and gave masses at a church a few miles away from the school. "I asked him...if he could tell me about any of the things she'd told him, or confessed. He said he wasn't allowed to at first but...he told about some of the things she'd say to him that weren't confession. From what it looks like, everything she told us about "Chindi" and the sorority group was a lie. Apparently one day she was there for hours, just crying and asking him to help her, but she never told him with what..." Zero looked at Yuki's file. Her headshot wasn't taken too long ago.

Her grown out bangs dangled over one of her eyes and she had a sullen and saddened look to her. Her status read as missing. "Then let me talk with Verona." Zero sighed. Takuma looked at him. "Because frankly, I can't really trust you Ichijo." Takuma sighed. "Alright, if you insist. I'll take you to him." he said. They went out to town and were at the church within minutes. However, on their path, Zero and Takuma recognized some faces; mainly because they all were the same.

Whether Yuki had released them, or they were protecting/looking for her, the skeleton-faced servants she'd once had were everywhere. He lead Zero into the church and let the large wooden doors close behind him. The church wasn't like he remembered.

The grey skies didn't let light cast into the stained glass windows and the room was very warm with all the candles lit. Zero swallowed, feeling uncomfortable just looking at the large carvings of angels above the altar. Father Verona appeared on the altar steps. "Welcome." he said in a raspy voice. Zero snapped back to attention looking at the man before him. "Father Verona..." Takuma said. Verona stood silent in wait. "I've returned. My friend here has some questions for you..."

"Very well." Father Verona said gesturing to the sanctuary in the back. Takuma and Zero sat in a pair of wooden chairs while the father sat at his desk and waited for them to talk. "This is Zero Kiryu...he's lived with Yuki before since she was a child...he's helping me to help her." Takuma continued. The father nodded. "I see. What may I do to assist you today?" he said. Zero looked up from his lap, looking at Verona's stone cross that sat on his desk as decor. "I want you to tell me. Whatever she confessed. Anything at all that stood out to you." Zero requested. The Father sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I am sorry, but it is against my vows as an ordained priest, as I have told Mr. Ichijo." Verona responded. Zero sighed. "I've have already asked the same question, Father Verona. But she's a danger to herself and others." Takuma persisted. Father sighed and then leaned forward to Zero. "I know this is all true, I know the girl personally enough. She used to come here once a month, then it was twice a week, and then it was everyday. But, I can tell you what I've told Mr. Ichijo, Zero." Verona told Zero. He got up and walked to the window. "Miss Kuran first came to my church two years ago. She was always asking me for a confession each time I saw her, and other days she wouldn't ask, just appear in the confession room waiting for me. She'd be in tears most days, others very calm. But through her confessions I found it to be rather a case of severe traumatic stress and depression that she was suffering from."

Takuma looked at his shoes while Zero frowned. "Each day I knew exactly what she'd confess, because usually it was the same thing every time. Just days before the first time she appeared for her first confession, Miss Kuran was a victim of rape." Verona said sadly. Zero sat up. "Can you elaborate? Did she give any detail? Did she say who it was?" he asked in an angered voice, that was enough to make Takuma cringe. He'd seen Zero upset, but not angry. Verona sighed heavily and sat back down.

"As her story goes, she had been walking back from a friend's small gathering to where she was staying, when she claimed she was grabbed by a group of men and taken into an old barn where it took place. She claims that they had done other things to her before then; they'd talked about putting her in human trafficking, or just killing her off when all was said and done. She said her hearing and most of her senses drowned out and her body went into shock during the event; but it's normal to mentally shut down during any sort of attack. Anyhow, her story is very tragic, but everything else she is experiencing is quite a mix of things. Negative energy can be made by post traumatic stress and depression, and could cause fatal starvation or dehydration." Verona explained.

"So then...should we take her to a doctor? A therapist?" Takuma asked. "No. The one person that can help her for now, is me." Verona said monotonously. "And why would that be? Is she really possessed?" Zero asked, standing up. Verona turned to them both, with a few minutes of silence, his breath hitching a bit before he began to speak. "Miss Kuran is not 'possessed'. Possession is a one way street in which the paranormal parasite benefits while the person is selected against their will, and often occurs by random. Yuki has been harvesting so much pain and angst, she's trying to tell herself her sexual attack was done for a reason. _Collision _is a term used to describe a person who is mentally possessed, not by a spirit, but by a second personality. I'd find her talking to herself at times, and so I gave her an object to place her demons into. She now has a lighter which lets her believe her evil is caged inside it." Verona said.

"Miss Kuran's odd behavior is a product of collision. Any violent mood swings or illusion she creates is only a baby step toward full on insanity, both her own and in the vampire world." "You know about vampires?" Takuma asked in shock. "The Catholic church is a supporter of this goal. Miss Kuran was once a pureblood, but now she is stronger than an army of them." Verona said. Zero frowned. "What do you mean? Isn't she just ill?" he asked. Verona shook his head taking off his glasses.

"Yuki is very dangerous, too much denial means a human poltergeist. Not demonic possession, but just a human with a brain that gets charged by negative signals. Soon, she will be able to have unwordly abilities, like a vampire. She will not be one, but stronger than an army of her once pureblood crowd. She _in the flesh _will be what is called a Host."


	30. XXX

She sat quiet in the basement of the church with Verona, focused on the spin shade lamp Verona set in front of her. She watched as the couple in the cutouts waltzed and flickered with the white light that illuminated their moving silhouettes. Verona's basement was well lit with candles and he had several long shelves of chemistry sets and syringes. Yuki knew he was in the study of psychology or alchemy or...something similar to those studies. Verona sat in the quiet with her as she watched the lamp spin like a child watching fireworks for the first time.

"Think Yuki...I need you to think...so I can help you." he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose after she'd avoided all his questions. "Can you remember anything beyond the assault? The same year?" No answer came from her lips. He sighed, looking at the tape-recorder beside the spin shade. "Let's try a different approach." he said. She looked at him, her messy hair falling over her face. He took her hand and told her to close her eyes as he shut the lights off except for the lamp.

"Put all your negative thoughts into your deepest memories from the past 2 years. Alright? What do you see?" he asked. She shrugged as she replayed her earliest memory in her head like an old film, the sound of the spinning cylinders almost audible in her ears as if she were watching her memories on a projector.

"I was leaving the academy for some time alone...I tried to make it as inconspicuous as possible..." she murmured. "I was looking for an inn, or someone to stay with-"She stopped and opened her eyes.

"I can't remember anything else." she sighed as set her head on her palm. "You're suppressing the memories because of your fear of remembering, Yuki. You have to let them through if you want me to help you. You came here today telling me you want to get rid of the bad thoughts and voices that are controlling you, and for a year now that's what I've been trying to help you with. So-"

He looked over at the young girl beside him; her eyes were still closed and she appeared to be sweating. "Good...this is a good sign. Now tell me what you see." he said softly. She was twitching every few seconds and spoke several minutes later. "What- what are they doing..." she whimpered. "Yuki?" he said leaning forward. "Stop...don't please-" she said. "Alright, my dear, take a break for a moment." Verona said, putting a hand on her back. Her back was soaked.

She was sweating through her clothes and started breathing heavily like she was choking. "What's happening!" she screamed, voice slowly getting angrier. The lights flickered in the room. She was grasping her head so tightly she was drawing blood from her scalp and running down her forehead. Verona shook Yuki from her trance as she fell to the floor, tears falling from her eyes. He held onto her as she wept. "Why did it have to be me?" she bawled angrily. He swallowed, turning off the tape-recorder and helping her stand. "Come...let's go pay a visit to your guardians." he said softly.

She grabbed his arm shakily, looking at him as she softly said, "They don't deserve to know anything."


	31. XXXI

Kaname sat in the Kuran Mansion playing with his chessboard, almost like he'd never left. It'd been 3 months since he last stood in his home. When he returned, the first name he was calling for was his sister's. Of course she wasn't home. Yuki was missing and he was completely unmoved by this reoccurring event. Seiren was out looking for her, followed by Ruka and Kain. Kaname had escaped the council's grasp for now. While getting away with several (but not all) murders of individual purebloods, he sat basking in his satisfactory with a glass of wine. If only he had his beloved at his side, he would be able to tell her that he did what he did for her. To keep her safe. However, he was worried at the same time of his triumph. Takuma's words were still on his mind. "_Yuki-sama needs to be saved now more than ever and you repay her by being two-faced!" _

Kaname closed his eyes. He knew deep down Takuma was right...he often was. But Kaname would never admit to that...not when he had to trust in his own conscience. But deep down he knew since a month ago, when he last saw Takuma, that something was wrong. No one from the academy had shown up on his doorstep. He hadn't heard one word about Yuki...although when he was in town he'd see her skeleton-faced clones roaming around like souls lost in a graveyard. His demons whispered, "You better find her yourself. Here's your last chance to prove yourself better for her."

A fierce knock came at the door. Kaname let the doors burst open as Takuma stood in his dark trench coat with Kaien Cross, Kaname's old colleague. "Kaname, I was giving you a choice before but...now you don't have one. You have to help Yuki-sama with the rest of us. It's at a crucial point." Takuma snapped. Kaname looked at him tediously before standing. "It's false material, Ichijo. You were relating Yuki's dementia to a faked study of parapsychology. She needs a professional-" "Kaname." Kaien said warningly, cutting him off. "We know already. But it would do us all good if you were there so we can determine her illness once and for all."

Kaname stood in silence before he took his trench coat off the coat hanger by the doors. "And do you even know where she is?" he sighed, putting it on. "We have a few ideas. But that's for afterward, there's someone I want both of you to meet. Zero and I found him after some investigating." Takuma explained.

* * *

******She slept peacefully curled up in a woven blanket in the loft/attic of the church. Verona slowly sat beside her, as she opened her eyes like an infant opening theirs for the first time. Her eyes were bloodshot with dark shadows under her eyes as a result of losing sleep. "I don't want to remember." she said silently. Verona put a hand on her forehead. "You must...and when you do...it will all be over." he said.**


	32. XXXII

_"What- what are they doing..." she whimpered. "Yuki?" Verona's voice came with static tint. "What's happening!" She yelled, slowly getting angrier. It went quiet for a moment afterword when soft crying came in through the static. "I couldn't see their faces...why were they chanting like that? Why did it have to be me?" _

The recording stopped, Verona slowly looking at Zero. "She's talking about the same night isn't she? We already know." Zero grunted. Verona looked at the recorder in his hands. "This is a start. However, even if it sounds the same...it is not," Verona replied solemnly, looking at Zero. "Her last words on the recording were 'why did it have to be me'. She doesn't believe it was a random sacrifice." Verona hypothesized. Zero frowned. Suddenly they heard the sound of the church's large wooden doors creaking open and hitting the walls with a _bang_. Verona and Zero came out to see who it was. Takuma approached with his two colleagues up the aisle.

"Father Verona, this is Kaien Cross and Kaname Kuran. Yuki's foster father and brother." Takuma introduced, while walking up the aisle. Verona stared both men down. "I see." he said sternly. "I apologize, vampires must baptize themselves before entering the sanctuary." Verona said staring down Kaname and Takuma. They exchanged glances before seeing Verona walk toward the back, the two doing as told. Kaien followed them into the sanctuary. Zero stood angry and overcome with envy. They didn't even care about Yuki...and they wanted to help her? Kuran left her to play killing spree and Kaien is back to being a hunter who can barely care for his own foster daughter anymore.

_He _was the only one that truly cared...because he fell in love with her all over again, regardless of her status. It was her madness...her beautiful madness. He joined them in the sanctuary soon enough to hear Verona explaining to them the whole story about Yuki in the last couple years. Kaname was standing from his seat, face overcome with anger at the two words of "sexual assault", Kaien with a hand over his mouth grief-stricken but accepting his fear had come true. Verona rubbed his nose where his glasses sat upon his bridge, as he played back the recorder for Takuma, Kaname, and Kaien. Once it ended he repeated his theory, then started a new explanation. "Tell me, have you seen her lighter before? The square golden one with the rabbit on it?" he questioned. They all nodded.

Verona looked to the ceiling. "I gave it to her several months ago. It's purpose is the same as creating a monster repellent spray out of perfume for children. I gave her the lighter so that she may place any negative thoughts or auras into it and so she may try and focus on the positive. She might have tried to convince you all she was possessed or she could see entities and talk to them. Yes?" "So you're trying to tell us it's a simple representation of herself trying to talk to us through her hysteria? She's trying to tell us something?" Kaien asked.

"Let me finish. She _is _in fact tormented by those on the other side. She has a gift that is so powerful and rare it could destroy the supernatural walls that were built to keep humanity safe. It is actually common in the occult world, but that's another story for another time. The point is...she is becoming a looking glass for other spirits; she's been harvesting too much negative energy from possible post traumatic stress and depression. That lighter is what's holding her up." Verona said. The looks on their faces said that it explained a lot, but they also said 'this is our fault...and we don't know how to fix it'. Verona held up her lighter from his pocket. "How did you get it?" Zero asked.

"I suspended it for a time. I wanted her to try and see how she does without it for the mean time." Kaname took the lighter, holding it in his palm for a few seconds. "You had to have smuggled this away from her, she never lets go of it. So you know where she is." Kaname purred. "She's been coming back for confessions. But I am not to give you her whereabouts." Verona said. Kaname slammed the lighter on the desk. "We have a limited time it seems, Father Verona. We can't just wait another few days for her to come by. And this lighter...is just a failed plan. You say she places her negativity into it...one day it will all explode, she will suffer, and it will be rendered useless." Kaien snapped, stabbing his dagger straight into the lighter as if he were trying to kill it.

They all jumped at the sound of a woman's painful scream from somewhere in the church, like she were dying. Verona hurried from the room, all of them following. Verona sped up the stairs to the second sanctuary. He stopped in the doorway. Yuki lie on the floor by the bed she fallen from (judging by the blood streak that led off the bed). She groaned and stirred in extreme discomfort. They didn't listen as the four men burst in after the Father. Yuki's dark grey long sleeve was growing soaked with blood, as she started choking and coughing up blood. Verona knelt beside her removing his greca. "Again?" he said softly to her. Her wound stopped bleeding as she looked at him like he was trying to provoke her.

She finished coughing up the blood as she stood up, using the walls for support. She panted heavily as some blood fell from her chin down her chest. She was a wreck...her hair's ends were wet with blood and the shadows under her eyes turned a sickly olive on her fair skin. Not to mention she looked weak and breakable. Verona still pressed on her stomach, getting the blood flow to stop. The four other men's hearts skipped a beat when Verona froze taking a step back. Yuki looked up like nothing happened, wiping her mouth and smirked. "Thank you." she said in a whisper, almost that of a male. The air thickened and the light inside the sanctuary flickered.


	33. XXXIII

"She stabbed herself with an old nail. She must have taken it from one of the paintings hanging on the wall. But she'll be fine." Verona said. Kaien stayed in the church overnight to watch over his foster daughter. Yuki had blacked out after her scene yesterday, and stayed sound asleep into the following afternoon. She now laid on a small bed in the church basement, her eyes open but barely functioning. She was looking at Kaien, but didn't realize who it was because her vision was still a bit blurry. Kaien returned the gaze with guilt in his irises.

"Let's sit up, dear." Kaien said trying to help her sit up. "How did she recover so fast if she's a mortal? And when she thanked us...what did she mean?" he asked. Verona looked to Yuki whom stared at the floor.

"She didn't heal, she just tuned out the feeling of pain because she was so in shock of what she'd done to herself. She's still very much injured but the stitches should help her along for the next few weeks. As for afterwards, her common reaction was to channel another personality. You'll notice how she talks about Chindi often, the _way_ she talks about her. It's to my hypothesis Chindi is not a spirit, but a second personality; you can tell because she used a male's voice which means Chindi is a rather masculine persona. Chindi wasn't thanking us, she was thanking Yuki. _Chindi _wanted our attention, and so Yuki who is most likely a victim of abuse to her second personality stabbed herself," Verona explained

"How do you know all of this? If I may," Kaien asked Verona.

"I was once in the study of parapsychology in my youth, also in medicine and health. Just in case we run into any possession cases. But I will tell you now, Yuki is not possessed. As I have mentioned, it is the amount of tension and negative emotion she's kept inside. But it is also a matter of vampire genes, knowing her past," Verona answered, putting on rubber gloves. He took a syringe and gently took Yuki's limp arm as she sat unresponsive. She watched the syringe slowly sink into her arm and watched Verona set it on a table across the room once he was done. "Alright Yuki," Verona sighed, hoisting her up by the waist and walking her to the leather chair that sat in wait at a table for her. She sat down, scanning the room.

He took her wrist, just as Takuma walked in. "Kaname wishes to speak with Kaien outside," he said. Kaien looked at Yuki, whom stayed returning the gaze like a lost puppy. Takuma slowly walked over to Yuki and sat beside her as she watched him closely; he smiled gently, making sure he made no sudden move to provoke her. He hated to admit...lately she's been being treated like a wild animal. Verona watched Kaien leave, then nodded to Takuma.

Yuki's senses were coming to as Verona placed his fingers on her wrist. He frowned slowly, moving his fingers about her wrist. _**She had no pulse**_. Takuma saw his troubled look and frowned. "What is it?" he asked. Verona shook his head and carried on to his next procedure.

Verona had Yuki hold a small metal plate between her two fingers against her temple, as a small machine started to draw her brain patterns. Kaien and Kaname slowly started approaching down the steps, trying not to interrupt and standing a few feet away. Verona stood slowly, taking the device away from Yuki as he tore the graph of the receipt paper. He froze, eyes staring at the paper intensely, then walking over to Kaien and Kaname.

"What is it?" Kaname frowned. He looked at them both. "I have been practicing these arts for 23 years...and I can't even describe this," he said, astonished. He showed them the graphing of Yuki's brain waves.

The waves would clump together, suddenly slow to a thin line, and then immediately go off the charts to finish. Kaname ripped it away to look at it. Kaien stared at Yuki, whom sat having a quiet conversation with Takuma. She looked so helpless and tired, like she hadn't slept for days or had just gotten over the flu.

"_**She has...an unreal range of frequency but no pulse. She's not human**_."


	34. XXXIV

"I asked them to leave as you requested," Verona said as he sat by Yuki. "But I'm going to record it for them later." She looked up from her lap, and he froze. She looked worse than a few hours ago. Her eyes were bloodshot and she was dripping sweat. He ignored it and asked her to close her eyes and hold his hand; he started the recorder. "I want you to sketch your fear. Tell me what your power is feeding off of," he said softly. "...Abandonment...the dark..." she said in a low voice. "...betrayal." He now leaned forward to get a better audio. "Who betrayed you Yuki? Or are you _worried _someone will betray you soon?" Verona asked. She kept her eyes closed and didn't say a word. He sighed and rubbed his hands together.

"What are you afraid of in the flesh? Anything physical? A person, an element, an event..." he continued, as he stood up and went to retrieve a few objects. "I can't tell you," she muttered. He swerved his head to look at her as he brought forth a candle, a notepad, and a glass of water. "We're going to try some different items just to see how your memory is doing alright?" He first set her hand on a pencil and asked her draw something and keep her eyes closed. Her sweat started to bead down her body like she was just out in the rain; she would not draw anything. They then tried the water; he asked her to put her hand into the glass, but she didn't move; he ended up manually putting a few fingers inside.

The water turned to blood as it always had. He'd seen this mysterious power before when she'd showed him at a confession, asking him if it was normal (she didn't realize she was "human" at the time); otherwise, she had no reaction. This was all until the **fire test**. He set the flame under her palm and she flinched as her sweating became nonstop. "It's hot...it's hot..." she whispered. He picked up the recorder. "She seems to respond to the fire well. Although she appears to be sweating somewhat badly," Verona recorded. "Too hot...the building's burning," she said opening her eyes and raising her voice. She stared straight ahead. "The building? This building?" Verona said, standing up with her.

She had a look of fear on her face as sweat fell down her face onto her chest. "They can't...do this!" she screamed. Verona watched her closely as he brought her hand closer to the flame until the smell of burning skin hit Yuki's senses. She awoke from her trance and screamed. He stopped the recorder and looked to her. She looked at him as her hand shook with the singing of her skin burning. "They won't stop...until they find their idol," she whispered. Verona stared. Tears streaked her face as she shook her head. "No more. Please," she sobbed. He slowly nodded and put a hand on her shoulder as she sat back down. "Go up to the sanctuary upstairs and rest. I need to run an errand. I'll ask one of your friends to watch you," Verona suggested.

* * *

Yuki stood staring at the wall for hours. Verona hadn't been back yet like he said he would. A tear seeped from her eye as she heard the door creak open. He shut the door quietly. "You should lay down..." he said. She shook her head as the tear fell down her cheek. He sighed and put a hand on her arm and she flinched a bit. She looked at him slowly. "Yuki," he said a bit shocked. It'd been so long since he'd seen her cry. "I'm...not going to get better. Am I?" she asked quietly. He frowned. "...Verona's trying Yuki. We all are. And if it doesn't fix anything...it will eventually heal on its own," he reassured. She nodded vaguely and picked at her beige sweater's snags. He held something out for her and she looked at him.

"I thought it might make you feel better," he said, extending a small rose. She smiled and took it slowly. "Thank you," she said, wiping a tear. He gave her a half-smile as she sat on her bed. "Not a lot of good things have been happening to me lately but...this was really nice of you." He sat down next to her. "...Do you remember those 2 years ago...right before you left the academy?" he asked. Yuki nodded as she returned the loving gaze his lavender eyes gave her. "I told you I would kill you and that I could never trust you again...but I didn't mean it. And I was too self-indulged to admit it." "I knew you didn't mean it. That's why I never left you alone," she said. She shook her head. "I'm a mess Zero...but I'm aware of how I feel," she continued.

"How sweet," they heard a sarcastic voice say. Sara stood in the doorway; Yuki's expression looked like a wolf choosing the smallest lamb in the flock to eat. "Zero, you might as well say your goodbyes now. Her madness will eat her whole. You wouldn't seriously believe her stories anyways would you? She's just a delusional bitch on some kind of drug. Cocaine perhaps," Sara purred. Verona was just entering as Sara approached Yuki abruptly and grabbed her neck. Yuki was unpleased with Shirabuki's sudden actions and was immediately provoked. "Your stories won't hold up for long, Yuki. You will eventually fall to pieces and be nothing but a worthless druggy-" Zero reached his arm out to get Sara away but Yuki already took action. She threw Sara into a wall with brute force and started to choke her to death.

Takuma came in and tried to rip Yuki away from Sara as Kaname watched calmly, knowing Sara deserved it; however there was a look of stun as Yuki started to make Sara turn blue. Smoke arose from Yuki's grasp as she held onto Sara as long as she could. "Yuki!" Takuma screamed as he ripped her away. Sara was in utter shock. "Get out of here Shirabuki," Zero shouted. She calmly walked out like nothing happened. "Meet me outside Takuma," Sara sighed. Yuki looked ready to faint. Yuki's hair was a mess as she clawed at Takuma to let her go. "YOU AREN'T GOING TO WIN YOU BITCH!" Yuki screamed, her malevolent energy causing the lightbulbs in the room to fizzle out and the bed to move.

Verona suddenly struck Yuki with a syringe causing her to fall unconscious in Takuma's grasp. Zero pushed Kaname back as he tried to grab Verona. "What did you do?" Kaname snapped. "Her madness was at its peak. If she wasn't weakened, she would have killed us all," he retorted. He looked at Takuma. "Son, take her down to the basement. I'm going to take her blood pressure."


	35. XXXV

Yuki sat in the quiet of the church basement with Takuma, staring off into space. "You know...I understand you're afraid Yuki-sama...but you need to be more careful. Sara is more powerful than you now that you're human," he said softly to her as he sat next to her. She looked at him slowly, the heavy and melancholy look she held making him flinch. "I'm not afraid of her! I'm afraid of them," she said quietly. "Them?" Takuma asked.

She shook her head as she stood and walked under the light bulb that illuminated the basement. "The ones that were trying to hurt me." He stood to make sure she wouldn't do anything risky. Yuki blinked, letting a tear fall from her fearful expression.

"I was the one she wanted. The shadow. I didn't want this to happen! It was supposed to be just a party..." she wept, coming to a stop. He frowned as he walked closer. "Yuki...I don't know you as well as I should. I tried not to pay attention to you in the beginning because Sara would hurt you. But I want you to know I'm here to listen. And if it's a secret...I'll-"

Suddenly her countenance straightened as the tears faded and her stare was once again solid. "I'm going to go clean up," she said as she went back upstairs and into the woman's room.

By the time the sun was setting, they hadn't seen her for hours. Zero sighed as he knocked on the bathroom door. "You in there?" he asked. She sat at the cold tile wall looking at herself in the extended mirror over the sinks.

As he knocked and called for her, she slowly got up, her filthy black boots shuffling as she walked to the sink slowly. She stared at herself in the mirror as she slowly opened her mouth and held her tongue down to look into the back of her throat. She looked carefully as she leaned forward. Something moved.

She squinted as a pair of fingers with sharp nails emerged from the back of her throat and met the tips of hers. She suddenly choked on air as she covered her mouth, Zero walking in. She looked at him like she was about to scream. He frowned and took her hand off her mouth. "What happened?" He asked. She didn't say anything. Verona stuck his head in. "Yuki. We've been looking for you. Let's take your blood pressure," He said holding out his hand for her.

She took it slowly as she looked back at Zero.


	36. XXXVI

Her eyes were narrow, her gaze dead on as her poisonous look followed Verona around the room. Kaien and Kaname sat in the corner of the room as Verona went over the procedure he was about to take with Yuki. Zero had disappeared for a few hours but had told Takuma he'd be back and not to do anything until he was back. Takuma had just put the band around Yuki's arm as her neck snapped his direction warningly. "It's okay, it doesn't hurt," he said gently. Her gaze left him as she continued to glare at Verona.

When Verona turned around from talking to Kaname and Kaien, he froze at her gaze. There were dark circles under Yuki's eyes and sweat was beading down her face. Kaien frowned as he got up to look at Yuki. Her breathing was shaky and Takuma, worried for their sakes, stepped in front of her trying to calm her. "Yuki. Calm down, what's wrong?" he said. You could hear her breathing from across the room.

Verona, although trying to look calm, had an expectant look to his tranquility. She kept trying to say something, but the entire word could hardly come out altogether. "What is it?" Takuma said, growing a bit nervous. She suddenly stood up and Verona was thrown into a wall without anyone's help.

As they all rushed to help him, Yuki ran up the stairs into the church. As she walked a sudden smell of burning wood made her freeze. The images flashed in her head; a man was holding her in his arms and laid her on the ground, the glow of flames in the background.

"Chindi...you shall be safe! Bring us-" The vision was cut off as she kept still in the middle of the isle, tears falling from her eyes. _**The memories were back.**_ Zero was stomping up the aisle in anger, but he slowed to a stop when he saw her eyes on him. "Who is _Chindi_?" he growled.

She looked at him sadly, eyes watering over. "Yuki you have to tell me! I read the files, I did all this research. I want to help you! I know you know what really happened in your heart. All you had to do is confirm it was real," he said hysterically. Kaien, Kaname, Takuma and Verona stood a few feet away facing the two's profiles quietly; even Sara appeared in the entrance. The two didn't seem to notice the audience.

Kaname was determined to hear what she remembered, Kaien on the edge of his seat...and Verona..._**in fear that she knew everything**_. She stared at Zero for a few moments before her lips parted. It was not a dry, emotionless voice she spoke with. It was her innocent, fragile voice that they'd last heard 3 years ago.

_**"I just wanted to go home...I woke up in an alleyway with blood between my leg-" **__She choked on a sob as she wiped a tear._ "_**They jumped out of an alley and grabbed me. I tried to ask them why they were doing this...they said I was special. When I woke up...I was tied down on my stomach and I couldn't help myself. I was there in that old barn for weeks. No one fed me, no one looked at me, everyone ignored my cries for help. All they ever did was prepare for the ritual. One man told me I had the potential...I was more than just a pureblood, I was an incarnate of a god. On my final day...I let my fear in. I stopped fighting...because it was too late," **__she said as her bottom lip trembled._ _**"They painted my body with blood and sprinkled ashes around me into a symbol. I was so scared...I knew something bad was going to happen to me. They kept chanting the name **__**Chindi**_ _**and some kind of foreign language. I was hoping you'd find me, Kaname, Kaien...someone. But by the time I had the chance to scream...they mutilated me to death." **__Her tears dripped down her face. The room was completely cold._ _**"It was supposed to be a soul transition," **__she continued with a straight face. _

Zero swallowed...feeling as though he was guilty. He was at fault. "The how are you here? Who are you?" he asked, his voice cracking into a whisper. She looked back at him with hollow eyes, the air around them densing.

_**"When I woke up, they all were there. Bowing, praying, asking me to lead them into the demolition of the vampire race and to get rid of the passage between the living and the other side. I was too angry, too upset they had taken my life from me. I set the barn to flames, I wanted everyone to die with me, to die in the presence of my sorrow. I was about to burn to death, but there was a man. One of the cult members that saved me. He removed me from the barn, told me to lead the world into a place just for the living as it had been millenniums before. I was suffocated by the smoke and everything was black for days...but then I found out it wasn't death. It wasn't freedom. I was still here, in a hospital bed, coming out of a coma. But I wasn't alone...I saw her in the back of my head. Chindi was keeping me alive."**_

Everyone was quiet. Yuki was still as she looked at Zero. "Who am I talking to right now?" he asked angrily. "Both of us," she said quietly. He took a deep and loud inhale through his nose as he continued to question. "You can get rid of her can't you?" he asked. She shook her head. "I'm hers. I'm the Auzerais'," she whispered. She suddenly, slowly raised two fingers up to her lips, pulling the lower lip down. Between the V of her fingers, on the inside of that lip...a singing and seemingly fresh brand of the cult appeared. He frowned as he took her face gently to look at it. "The symbol of the Auzerais," Takuma muttered in fear. "The cult against vampire kind..." Kaname frowned. "If you know who the cult is, you now who the man is that murdered you. Who was the man who killed you, Yuki?! Who was the man that saved you?!" he shouted. She stared at Zero as her lips parted. "_Verona._"


	37. XXXVII

Verona was quiet as they looked at him. "I am glad, you have accepted Chindi's requests of you, child," Verona said as he took off his glasses. She didn't say anything as he walked toward her. Zero tried to keep him back, but Verona was strong enough to knock Zero to his feet and aim a gun at him. "It's quite a burden at times...I'd understand. But our lovely leader is going to rid us of humanity's burden. _Vampires_. Isn't that what you want? As I recall...you used to struggle with their existence in your past. They caused you pain, depression. You only wanted them to leave you to your life-"

Her eyes were bloodshot, although she did not cry-Verona stayed a good few feet away knowing of her abilities. "But look at you now...you have a chance to get rid of them...so why don't you? Now?" Verona said gesturing to Takuma, Kaname, and Sara. "Because I'm not you, Verona. And we're upset," she answered. He frowned. "Chindi doesn't want to help you. And neither do I," she said, her voice going to a whisper.

"You're lying. I know this...because it _was me_ who saved you from your own selfishness in that fire, who _set Chindi free_. You have no choice!" he shouted. "That's enough," Kaname growled as he grabbed Verona and forced him into a wall.

Hell broke out as Verona was stuck in a battle between the four men in the church, while Yuki watched in reminiscence. Sara stood with eyes locked on Yuki, unsure what she should do- spare the helpless girl being controlled by mental illness, or kill this _thing _that could really be the end of vampire kind (and her chances of becoming queen).

Verona lunged for Yuki and she stood still as he was suddenly held in the air, his face turning blue. A tear fell down Yuki's face, as if she were at war with herself as to whether she'd spare this man or not. _Whether she'd spare any of them_. Verona wriggled himself free from the unseen force as he glared at Yuki. "Chindi!" he screamed. "Don't let that ungrateful bitch hold you back."

"...She's not," Yuki said in a hushed tone as he was thrown through the door of the church, his screaming heard from every perimeter. Yuki's gaze was hateful, but pained. Everything went silent as the power gave out. "What the hell!" Zero shouted as the quiet last for as long as five minutes. The lights came back on as Yuki stood on the altar unoticed by the audience with their backs to her. Sara flinched as something hot dripped on her face.

She slowly looked up to see Verona's corpse hanging from the metal chandeliers. Verona's skin was colored crimson, his black clothes shining in the low candlelight. Sara looked to Yuki as the others were slowly to notice the corpse. "You ust don't stop. Look what you've done. Killed the only other psychotic man that played along with your stupid game," she growled. "Sara," Takuma hissed. "No!" she yelled at him. "I will not be one of her deranged minions. I'm not her chosen! I should have gotten rid of her when I first saw her...there _is something. Wrong. Wi-_"

Sara froze as she looked back into Yuki's eyes. Her perfect mahogany irises were now a solid black; almost almond. However, the young blonde did not show fear. She lunged, dodging Kaname's block; all failed when Yuki caught her neck and forced her into a wall. "You underestimate me," Yuki snapped, a dark voice morphed with hers. Black smoke arose from her tight grasp on Sara's neck. _Sara was instantly gone. Vanished. _

Takuma flinched back, afraid to accept what had happened. They tried to get Yuki to come back to attention, but she only stared at the shadow Sara's ashes had left on the pure white wall. "She was useless. A waste of time. I should have known better she couldn't serve the body...she couldn't have made it any how," her mature voice suddenly said.

They had all realized now, any shift in vocal tone had meant she'd shifted and/or morphed personalities. This was no mental illness anymore; she was seeing another being. And slowly she was drifting in and out of the psychologically sane loop. "Chindi?" Kaien asked. Yuki blinked. "You do not...need this girl anymore. You can leave her...find another strong life form," he continued.

"We have a strong body. We have a filthy heart...there is no other soul...with a persona like ours," she answered. "I want to take her with me...I don't need you immortal sins to protect us any lo-" She stopped mid sentence as she started coughing. Kaname was too stiff to do anything, but Takuma didn't hesitate to try and help her. Crimson blood spilled from her lips as she set her head to aqua colored altar carpet. Blood as red as a rose...brought a little hope to their eyes...and not seeing the custom black color.

Yuki laid on her sighed as Takuma yelled at her to fight Chindi, Kaien trying to help her up. She arched backwards as she let out a cry of pain when her bloody vomit started to gag her. Her hair thankfully hid the hideous scene when close to 30 moths crawling from her glorious red lips. **Chindi had been fought off by her host.**

* * *

"Please...don't abuse me any longer," Yuki had said to her. "But you're mine. You can't just leave me to rot in the back of your mind," Chindi had told her. "I don't need you _Chindi_. Let. Me. Go," Yuki's last thoughts to Chindi were.

* * *

Yuki pulled her head up as she stifled for air, the large brown moths, flying around frantically. Takuma slowly stood up, Kaien and Kaname rushing over. Kaien checked for injuries, for a pulse; Kaname held her tightly as he wiped the blood off her mouth. Zero stood silent as she stared back at him.


End file.
